Zach Parise will miss the Minnesota Wild's game with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday to be with his ailing father.
Zach Parise leaves Minnesota Wild to be with ailing father
J.P. Parise’s battle with cancer has taken a turn for the worse.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Parise's father, legendary North Stars player J.P. Parise, is currently struggling with the late stages of lung cancer. The Wild announced Zach Parise's temporary departure on Twitter with a statement on Tuesday.
Zach Parise will miss tonight’s game vs. San Jose. #mnwild statement is attached. #NHL #SJSvsMIN pic.twitter.com/1F8slcko9v
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) January 7, 2015 The elder Parise was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer a year ago and has undergone chemotherapy until choosing to discontinue treatment in the last few weeks. Since the decision, the 73-year-old’s condition has reportedly begun to deteriorate.
Zach Parise told the Star Tribune recently that focusing on hockey has become difficult, even though it used to be a cornerstone in his relationship with his father.
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life,” Parise, 30, said. “You try and find that separation, you try to come here and be around the guys and not think about it, and Yeozie [coach Mike Yeo] has been really good and the team’s been really good giving me the day off [Thursday], saying basically, ‘Just show up for games.’
“They’ve been really supportive about it, but the hard part about it is you try to go to the rink and forget about stuff, but the hard part is ... this was kind of our thing.”
The elder Parise spent 17 seasons in the NHL, with most of those years coming with the Minnesota North Stars. He retired in 1979 with 238 goals and 594 points.
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