Zach Parise won’t be with the Islanders when they hit the ice for training camp Thursday.
Barring something unexpected, he won’t be there on opening night against the Sabres, either.
But in December, or after the All-Star break, or in the playoffs?
The best the Islanders can offer is a collective shrug, but they can — and do — hope he’ll be with them at some point.
“Zach, if you’re watching,” Mathew Barzal joked at the team’s annual golf outing Monday, “get back here.”
Without the 39-year-old Parise, who is spending time away with his family as he contemplates his future, the Islanders are down their third-leading scorer from last season and their most durable player of the last two campaigns.
His absence sets up a training camp competition for the spot he occupied on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s left last season, mainly between Oliver Wahlstrom, Simon Holmstrom and Julien Gauthier.
Wahlstrom, coming off a knee injury that ended his 2022-23 campaign early, is probably a slight favorite, but it will be a critical few weeks for him to establish that he hasn’t lost a step and needs to be part of the Islanders’ plans this season.
“I knew the game [Wahlstrom] went down that we were gonna miss him and we did,” coach Lane Lambert said. “He’s coming off, I guess you would say a significant injury. He’s had a great summer. The time frame for him has been good. I’m looking forward to it.”
No matter who ends up in the spot, the Islanders will be looking at a deficit in experience.
Parise and Josh Bailey — who was traded away as a salary-cap casualty and signed a professional tryout contract with Ottawa — had combined for 2,281 NHL games and 33 seasons in the league.
None of Wahlstrom, Gauthier or Holmstrom has played more than 161 games.
Not only do the Islanders need to replace Parise’s on-ice production, but there will be a considerable void to fill in the room, as Bailey was an alternate captain.
“It’s gonna be different,” captain Anders Lee said. “Bails has been a cornerstone and foundation of this room and this team for a long time and had such an impactful career on the Island.”
Added Barzal: “Those guys have been great for the locker room. I’ve been with Bails since my first day here. He’s a friend of mine for life. And it’s gonna suck not seeing him in the room.”
Bailey, though, did not figure into the team’s on-ice plans for this season.
Parise — if he does eventually return — would presumably be in the lineup every night and could play on either special teams unit.
Despite his age, he proved to be an essential piece for the Isles last season.
Wahlstrom and Holmstrom in particular are both young players with some offensive potential. But ultimately, neither has proven they can produce in the NHL at the same level Parise did last season, when he recorded 21 goals and 13 assists. Gauthier has scored just 11 goals over parts of four seasons, and failed to stick in three different NHL pit stops.
What Parise ultimately wants — and when — will determine a lot here. But if one of those players breaks out, the Islanders’ need for him to return would be, at least in theory, mitigated.
That makes the situation a delicate balance for everyone involved, with the unpredictability of an eventual return hanging over everything.
The Islanders will happily respect whatever Parise chooses to do, whenever he chooses to do it.
But there’s not much question that right now, their best-case scenario would be him returning as early in the season as possible.
“It’d be great,” Barzal said. “Zach had a great year last year. Aside from being a good player, he also brings just the work ethic off the ice and professionalism every day. He’s fun to be around. … We’d love to have him back.”
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