Parise unsure on future, will play only for Islanders

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Zach Parise said he hasn't made a decision on whether or not he will retire, but the only team he would play for next season is the New York Islanders.

"It's here or nowhere," the 38-year-old forward said Monday.

Parise, who signed a one-year contract with the Islanders on March 21, 2022, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He originally signed a one-year contract with New York on Sept. 21, 2021, after he had the final four seasons of his 13-year, $98 million contract bought out by the Minnesota Wild.

Parise had 34 points (21 goals, 13 assists) in 82 games for the Islanders this season while playing mostly on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Hudson Fasching. He did not have a point in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.

After the Islanders were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes with a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Friday, Parise sat in his locker at UBS Arena in full uniform for the entirety of the press availability but was not made available for comment.

"Little bit of shock," he said, describing his emotions after the game. "It never gets any easier."

On top of Parise, the Islanders will have to make big decisions on other pending unrestricted free agents, including forward Pierre Engvall, defenseman Scott Mayfield and goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Fasching, who had 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in an NHL career-high 49 games this season, agreed to a two-year contract on Monday.

Bo Horvat, who agreed to an eight-year contract with New York on Feb. 6, less than a week after he was acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30, said he believes the Islanders are close to making a run at the Stanley Cup.

"I do, yeah," Horvat said. "I really believe that, and I really believe in this group and the guys [we] have in the room, the character. I'm sure a lot of people had us, had this team, written off a lot of the year, not making the playoffs, and again, we just rose to the occasion and made it. Obviously, we'd like a better result in the first round, but I mean, I think every game was so close, and I just think a couple more bounces here or there and we'd be moving on [or] playing Game 7 or whatnot. So, a lot of promising things going on here, and again, I think we're just [going to] continue to keep getting better."