Eyes On Isles

Islanders 21-22 report card: Zach Parise was the hardest working Islander all season

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

The New York Islanders signed Parise after a buyout by the Minnesota Wild for one year at league minimum ($750K) plus incentives that amounted to a 1x$1.5 million average annual value.

After proving he can still make a difference, although not quite like he used to, New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello extended Parise for one more year with the exact same deal. We've said it a million times before and we'll say it a million more. Zach Parise was the hardest working skater for the Islanders this season. Let's see how that translates on his report card.

This is a continuation of the player-level report cards that we started this offseason. You can read the other ones here:
-Josh Bailey
-Mathew Barzal
-Anthony Beauvillier
-Kieffer Bellows
-Casey Cizikas
-Cal Clutterbuck
-Anders Lee
-Brock Nelson
-Matt Martin
-J.G. Pageau

-Kyle Palmieri
-New York Islanders (Team Level Report Card)

New York Islanders 21-22 report card: Zach Parise

Offense: B
Much like Kyle Palmieri, it took a little while for Parise to find the score sheet. He didn't collect his first point until his eighth game into the season tallying two assists in a 6-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Montreal. His first goal took even longer, unable to find the back of the net until his 23rd game of the season. It came against his former club, the New Jersey Devils, in a 4-2 victory at UBS Arena. It wasn't for a lack of trying, however, as once he got the first one the points became more frequent. Through his first 23 games, he tallied five points (one goal, four assists).

In the latter 59 games, Parise accrued 14 goals and 16 assists. He started the year spending most of his time on a line centered by J.G. Pageau until Barry Trotz began putting the lines in a blender and he found himself playing with Mathew Barzal. What sticks out most analytically for Parise is his solid 51.72% High Danger Corsi for Percentage. For finishing the season with 15 goals, and 30 points as a third-line winger on an extremely team-friendly contract, Parise gets a solid B for his season.

Defense: B-
Parise finished the season with a +0.11 relative xGA/60. That's not quite as good as Palmieri who score a -0.19 on the season but is much better than the linemate he spent the most time with at 5on5 this season, Barzal, who had an awful +0.38.

Barzal earned a D+ for his defense, and Palmieri an A-. For being far better than Barzal, but not that much worse than Palmieri, Parise gets a B- for his defense this season.

Impact vs Reliance: B-
Parise was the least utilized top nine forward not named Oliver Wahlstrom for the Islanders this season. His 15:16 TOI/GP ranks him eighth among forwards, roughly just one minute more than Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line.

Parise's 0.41 game score is just seven points shy of Anders Lee's 0.48. His average ice time is also over a minute less than Lee's while almost making a similar impact. For his lower utilization and his similar impact, Parise gets a B-.

Final grade: B-
Again, Parise was the hardest working Islander on the ice game after game. He was also the only skater to play a full 82-games for the Islanders this season. Lee may have put more pucks in the back of the net, but given Parise's contract vs. his point totals and almost having the same impact in fewer minutes, he ranks slightly better with a B-.

Schedule