The rumors turned out to be correct – Zach Parise is now a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

On Friday, just hours before facing off against the Los Angeles Kings, the Avalanche made it official that Parise has signed a one-year deal through the end of the 2023-24 campaign. According to Frank Seravalli, Parise will make $825,000 on a prorated contract, and there are no performance bonuses attached to the deal.

Parise spent the last two seasons with the New York Islanders, and was still plenty effective. He’s not the player he once was, but you can’t expect that from someone in their late 30’s. He still chipped in with 21 goals last season, most of which came from around the net. Look at this as their Tomas Tatar replacement. All eyes will be on Parise’s skating and how he fits into Colorado’s system.

Zach Parise, reportedly signing with COL, is a veteran bottom six winger who can still create offence even though his finishing and (especially) skating isn't what it used to be. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/HxutiBNAgN

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 27, 2024

The 39 year old winger is not currently in Denver to meet with the media, but may do an availability of sorts next week during the All-Star break.

I’ll hang around Family Sports next week a little bit to see if Parise is in town skating at all.

Here is what Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland had to say about the signing.

“We are excited to add Zach to our group,” said Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland. “Over his impressive NHL career, Zach has always been a highly competitive and driven forward who is hard to play against. We look forward to adding his veteran presence to our locker room.”