Parrish played 11 seasons and over 700 games in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Buffalo Sabres.

A WHL West First All-Star in his only year of major junior,[2] he scored at a goal-per-game pace with the Thunderbirds as team captain[3] and accumulated 92 points in 54 games.

After two seasons with the Panthers, Parrish was sent to the New York Islanders with left wing Oleg Kvasha in exchange for future superstars Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen.

On July 30, 2008, the final three years of Parrish's contract was bought out in order to clear salary cap space and he became a free agent.

[10] Without an NHL team, Parrish signed with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a 25-game tryout basis on October 22.

[16] Providing offensive support and a veteran presence Parrish was signed to a one-year contract by the Admirals NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 8, 2010.

[18] Parrish did not appear in a game with Ottawa, as he was reassigned from training camp to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, for the duration of the 2011–12 season.

[21] Under Scholz, Orono went on to win the 2018 Minnesota State High School League Championship by defeating Alexandria 2–1, with Parrish broadcasting the game.

Along with New York Islanders teammates Rick DiPietro and Jason Blake, Parrish played for Team USA at the Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy, in February 2006.