Wild pay tribute to Zach Parise in his return to Minnesota.

Fans at the Xcel Energy Center were in for a special treat on Sunday night as they not only got to see their favorite team perform live, but they also were on hand for the return of one of the biggest stars in franchise history.

The Wild faced off against the New York Islanders on Sunday and along with the Islanders they welcomed forward Zach Parise, who of course played several seasons as a member of the Wild. Parise was welcomed back to Minnesota by a warm reception from the fans in attendance, but he was also treated to a tribute video from the Wild on the big screen.

Minnesota Wild insider Mike Russo was on hand for tonight's game and was able to capture video of Parise's tribute as well as the loud ovation he received from the crowd when he was introduced following the video tribute.

It was nice to see Parise welcomed back with a classy tribute after what was reportedly a difficult split between the two sides earlier this year. Parise was bought out of the longer term contract he signed with the Wild back in 2012 and would go on to admit that the whole affair had left a bad taste in his mouth. 

You can certainly understand why the veteran forward would feel that way. While the reasons for the Wild buying him out were obvious from a hockey perspective, Parise's skills had declined and he carried a massive cap hit of $7.538 million for several more seasons, the reality is that he spent 9 years of his life putting his body on the line for the Minnesota Wild franchise.

Parise signed a one year deal with the Islanders this summer at a cap hit of $1.5 million and thus far has appeared in 9 games for the Isles this season. He has no goals on the season but has picked up a pair of assists and currently boasts a positive plus minus rating of +2.

Parise remains the Wild's franchise leader for power play goals with 69, a record he will likely hold for some time given that the closest active player on the Wild roster is Jared Spurgeon with only 32.