The Stars made a good pickup the other day when they grabbed winger Mark Parrish off the scrap heap. The former all-star and member of the 2006 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Turin, Italy signed a 1-year, $500,000 contract late last week and promptly scored a hit-trick in his first game back, a 5-2 win over the Ducks. How’s that for a quick return on an investment?
Parrish, who had been dumped by the Wild after a lackluster 30-point campaign last year, was looked over by every NHL team heading into this year before finally signing a contract with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, where he played all of three games before Dallas came along. This is a decent addition for Dallas as they get a proven scorer at a reduced price. Two of his three goals against Anaheim came on the power play, so it looks like he’ll be getting some time on the PP. He may not return to the form he displayed when he was scoring 30 goals for the Islanders in ’01-’02, but he might be good for 20 or so goals and 40-50 points should he stay healthy, which has been a concern for him in the past.
Dallas has a lot of work to do if they hope to make the playoffs – they’re already well behind the Sharks in the Pacific – so hopefully Parrish can continue to make an impact.