Fantasy Spin: Parise struggling in contract year

Thursday, 12.01.2011 / 2:20 AM

By Pete Jensen - NHL.com Staff Writer / Fantasy Spin Blog

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Fantasy Spin: Parise struggling in contract year
With Zach Parise in the midst of another lengthy goal-scoring drought, the concerns of his fantasy owners have reached a new high.

Zach Parise
Zach Parise
Left Wing - NJD
GOALS: 6 | ASST: 7 | PTS: 13
SOG: 78 | +/-: -8
Parise, who posted an assist and a minus-2 rating in the New Jersey Devils' 6-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday, extended his goalless streak to six games. This marked the second time this season in which Parise has gone five-plus games without finding the back of the net. For a player with an average draft round in Yahoo! Leagues of 2.7, Parise's fantasy production is way down based on high expectations (circa 40 goals) surrounding his contract year.

Coming off a season where he played only 13 games due to a knee injury, Parise was named the Devils' captain in October and has also gone through a brief position change where he saw time at center. With pressure brewing, Parise nearly notched the most dramatic goal of New Jersey's season when the puck crossed the goal line off his skate with 2.1 seconds remaining in the third period last Saturday against the New York Islanders. But when the ruling on the ice was overturned due to a distinct kicking motion on Parise's part, the frustration continued to mount as the Devils suffered an excruciating 3-2 loss.

The 27-year-old has been in the lineup for all 23 of New Jersey's games this season, but has simply not displayed the game-breaking ability that justified an early-round fantasy draft selection. Despite a strong shot output, his plus-minus and point totals are sub-par. Regardless of whether or not his slump is due to an ongoing recovery from injury, the bottom line is that Parise is on pace to register his first full season with under 30 goals since his rookie campaign in 2005-06.
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