Mark Parrish Free Agent

by MN Wild Freak on Aug 18, 2008 11:00 AM CDT in News Comment 4 comments

I haven't talked much about Mark Parrish being put on waivers and then getting bought out, but there is plenty of buzz about it in the hockey community so I thought I better make a note of it. I even saw a special on him on Fox 9 News Sports Extra last night. He sounded bitter. He said he gave the team everything they asked for and then got stabbed in the back. I also got the feeling he wasn't too fond of Jacques Lemaire's leadership style. Mark Parrish said that Lemaire would often talk in general terms and not give enough specifics on what needs to be done to improve the game play and that Jacques wanted you to figure it out yourself. I can see both points of view on his leadership style, but from my viewpoint it seems like if you get on Jacques Lemaire's bad side, you stay on his bad side - no matter what. That can suck for a hockey player with potential like Mark Parrish.

Here is a comment from W1ldfan on the Parrish situation that I want to feature on the front page: Keep commenting Wild fans - let your voices be heard!

"Mark Parrish is the exact guy that could have made a huge difference in the Colorado Series. I know that he was hurt and so did everyone else. If a guy, that is considered a character guy, goes out in a series like that and just leaves it all out there taking and delivering abuse, while everyone KNOWS he is hurt a team will rally around that guy. Suddenly you have guys like Pav, Gabby, Skoula, Johnson, Butch and other players not known for being physical stepping that aspect of their game a little bit. You saw it in Rod Brind'amor with Carolina, in baseball you saw it with Curt Schilling with Boston and Gibson with the Dodgers in Baseball. If he had taken that role, he would have become a hockey god, right there with Neal Broten, in this state, but instead when talking about home grown Wild Hockey Players all attention will still turn to Darby Hendrickson."

Editors Comment: I don't think Mark Parrish and Neal Broten are even close comparisons, but I respect the point you are making.

Where will Mark Parrish end up? Vancouver Canucks? Nashville Predators? Tampa Bay Lightning?

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My Posting, but.....

I have to give Mark a ton of credit for being a class guy. I am pretty sure that I read it on Yahoo that, even after being bought out, Mark attended a pizza party with a Wild fan. Something like, his dad is the AD for one of the St Paul colleges and to raise money for a charity they raffled off a Mark Parrish Pizza Party and Mark despite, not being with the team anymore he showed and answered all questions about the situation with the Wild as well as others with class. He hung out with everyone, played street hockey with the kids and showed nothing but class. I know NHL players have a reputation for being down to earth, but I have to believe that this is beyond what even most NHL player would do. big props to a guy with obviously a lot of class. I hope he finds more success wherever he lands.

by W1ldfan on Aug 19, 2008 6:21 PM CDT reply actions

Parrish

I am going to miss him. I think that he’s a huge contributor on and off the ice, a true class act, and a true Minnesotan! The way he was let go was not classy, especially coming from an organization that seems to pride itself on doing “the right thing” in tough situations.

by cortneystorsved on Aug 21, 2008 5:57 PM CDT reply actions

Gabby

What do you think about the whole Gaborik thing? Do you think he’ll sign with us, or go to the open market? Do you think we absolutely need him on the team next year, no matter what the cost?

by cortneystorsved on Sep 9, 2008 6:15 PM CDT reply actions

We do not need to sign Gaborik.

I would like to preface this with, I am not a Gabby hater. I like to watch him play he is fun and an incredibly gifted individual player. That said I would rather see the Wild let him walk rather than break the bank on him. Gabby is not a franchise player, he’s not a leader, I’m not even really sure if he is a captain. The Problem with Marion is that, other than drawing attention away from them, he does not make the players around him better, which a true franchise player would. The Wild need to save cap room for that player, which can make the whole team raise their level of play. It would be nice if we could see Gabby play with someone that could raise even his play above what we have seen so far, unfortuanately I believe we will see that happen, with him in a different Jersey. Because from what I have seen this off season, Gabby is chasing the buck instead of looking at the big picture.

by W1ldfan on Sep 10, 2008 1:39 PM CDT reply actions