In the playoffs, it seemed like Zach Parise had some gas left in his tank, especially after the first round, as he had a pretty good performance for the Avalanche against the Winnipeg Jets. He made it clear right up until the end that this was his last season in the NHL, but you never know if a contender like this will change his mind after some time away.

No, nothing has changed for Parise, but he hasn’t made it official yet.

“I haven’t filed my retirement papers yet, but I’ve finished them,” Parise told Kevin Karius on his podcast last week.

Parise was recently coaching his son Jaxson and Team Minnesota at the Brick Invitational and joined Karius in studio on his podcast to discuss a variety of topics, including his time with the Avalanche to finish his NHL career. Parise signed in February and played in 30 regular season games and 11 in the playoffs for Colorado.

“It was a great experience to finally play with those guys,” Parise said. “Physically, I felt great. I really did. But mentally, when you know the time is coming, you know the time is coming, and for me, it’s now.”

Not filing retirement papers provides some flexibility, but Parise appears to have made up his mind. That means his final NHL game will be a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game Six. The veteran suffered a long slump leading up to the final game of the regular season, then played a key role in the Avalanche’s first-round win over the Winnipeg Jets, coming in second due to Jonathan Drouin’s injury.

Beyond his on-ice play, he was a valuable asset in the locker room. Nikolai Kovalenko’s locker room was right next to Parise’s at Ball Arena, and you could see the young forward circling the veteran player during the skates. When you’re a smaller forward like Kovalenko, he’s definitely not the worst guy to hang around and learn from.

1,254 games.

434 goals.

889 points.

A pretty good NHL career, if I do say so myself. Congratulations to Parise and good luck in retirement.