Injury Report: Zach Parise (Conditioning Stint w/ Iowa Wild)

[57special]

Again, I'm reminded of the Bossy and Gretzky back woes that forced them to retire. Both were so talented that they could still contribute while being subpar physically, but since Parise's game is so reliant on energy and tenacity I see a far bigger drop off relative to those two.

It's hard to take. He was our best forward, and arguably our best player in his first few years here. Everyone expected a drop off, but nowhere near so fast, as he is a guy who is a rink rat, and keeps himself in shape during the offseason.

 

[NHL1674]

 

[Lapa]

Just watching Zach Parise pick up a couple backpacks Tuesday was painful.
After standing to eat lunch while talking to two injured teammates sitting at the table in front of him, the Wild forward went into a full squat to lift his belongings before leaving Xcel Energy Center with no idea as to when he’ll be able to play this season for the Wild.
“It’s tough seeing him,” defenseman Ryan Suter said. “He wants to play so bad and he works his butt off so hard to get into shape and to get ready for the season, and then this happens. Now he’s just grinding it out trying to have a good day and feel good about himself.

https://theathletic.com/130204/2017/10/17/ryan-suter-on-zach-parise-as-a-friend-its-awful/

Yeah, this sound bad..

 

[TaLoN]

He should have had surgery to fix his disc.

My Dad had a herniated disc for years which flared up on him quite a few times, eventually had surgery and it never flared up on him again.

 

[BigT2002]

He should have had surgery to fix his disc.

My Dad had a herniated disc for years which flared up on him quite a few times, eventually had surgery and it never flared up on him again.

To be fair: most athletes consider a back surgery the kiss of death for their careers. Once it’s done there is no going back. And it may not ever get better because of it either. Hindsight being what it is, it was probably looked at as the main option because of recover time and the fact Parise is not even 35 yet.

 

[Ban Hammered]

He should have had surgery to fix his disc.

My Dad had a herniated disc for years which flared up on him quite a few times, eventually had surgery and it never flared up on him again.

Easy to say when it isn't you and while it may not have flared up...your dad is not a pro athlete. Back surgeries for athletes are usually the end of the career.

 

[TaLoN]

Easy to say when it isn't you and while it may not have flared up...your dad is not a pro athlete. Back surgeries for athletes are usually the end of the career.

Back injuries without surgery are the end of careers too.

Remember though, the doctors in this case actually recommended surgery but he refused that option.

 

[Wabit]

Parise probably looks at back surgery as one of the last possible options if he wants to continue playing. He's 33 now. I don't know the downtime required for recovery and getting back into NHL shape. I don't even know what the chances of a full unhindered, no flareups procedure are. It really could be the end of his career as soon as he goes under the knife. He might think he has better odds of playing through it and hoping for the best.

It just sucks from a fan's perspective because we have 10% of the team's cap tied up in him for the forseeable future.

 

[Ban Hammered]

Back injuries without surgery are the end of careers too.

Remember though, the doctors in this case actually recommended surgery but he refused that option.

And that is his choice. I sure as hell would want to exhaust every other possibility before I went under the knife.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Parise probably looks at back surgery as one of the last possible options if he wants to continue playing. He's 33 now. I don't know the downtime required for recovery and getting back into NHL shape. I don't even know what the chances of a full unhindered, no flareups procedure are. It really could be the end of his career as soon as he goes under the knife. He might think he has better odds of playing through it and hoping for the best.

It just sucks from a fan's perspective because we have 10% of the team's cap tied up in him for the forseeable future.

LTIR would solve that real quick.

 

[Wabit]

LTIR would solve that real quick.

Not really. Look at all the procedural hoops the Hawks had to jump through for Hossa's LTIR. Sending players down to get under the $75m cap, then recalling them once Hossa was put on LTIR.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Not really. Look at all the procedural hoops the Hawks had to jump through for Hossa's LTIR. Sending players down to get under the $75m cap, then recalling them once Hossa was put on LTIR.

Just have to do it on day 1 though I think.

 

[mulefarm]

Glad he got to play in the World cup last year!

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Sources: Zach Parise contemplating back surgery as early as Tuesday

After exhausting all options in an attempt to overcome a debilitating injury and make his season debut, Wild veteran Zach Parise is contemplating back surgery that would sideline the winger up to two months, three well-place sources told The Athletic.

Parise was diagnosed with a herniated disk during the 2015-16 season and missed the entire 2016 playoffs due to an injury that caused numbness and a lack of strength in one of his legs. While Parise played the entire 2016-17 season without missing games due to his back, the issue flared up once again two weeks before this season’s training camp.

 

[gphr513]

Unsurprising, but still a bummer. Parise is definitely a gamer, and I'm sure this kills him inside.

 

[ThatGuy22]

I'm sure Russo is really excited for all the tweets/comments about the Wild still not putting Parise on LTIR after having surgery.

 

[End of Line]

Parise probably looks at back surgery as one of the last possible options if he wants to continue playing. He's 33 now. I don't know the downtime required for recovery and getting back into NHL shape. I don't even know what the chances of a full unhindered, no flareups procedure are. It really could be the end of his career as soon as he goes under the knife. He might think he has better odds of playing through it and hoping for the best.

It's unpredictable but that's the nature of back surgery. Had mine done a year ago and it couldn't be more true. Sucks to see anyone have to deal with back issues since once you have them they don't exactly go away.

 

[TaLoN]

It's unfortunate it came to this, but this seems to have been inevitable since his back injury happened.

The doctors even then had recommended this at the time, but Zach was hoping to recover without it.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Best case, he fully recovers and we gain a good top 6 forward for nothing around January/February.

Worse, nothing improves and he gets Pronger treatment for the next 8 years. Sucks.

 

[2Pair]

Best case, he fully recovers and we gain a good top 6 forward for nothing around January/February.

Worse, nothing improves and he gets Pronger treatment for the next 8 years. Sucks.

Worst case is that he spends the next 5 years in and out of the lineup because "he's just got so much heart"

 

[NHL1674]

Sounds like it's a done deal.

 

[BigT2002]

I am sure this was not taken lightly at all. I would suspect many who had the surgery were called and asked what they thought as well. Hopefully it is a speedy recovery.

 

[Wild11MN]

Sucks that they couldn't have come to the conclusion earlier, obviously, but just get it done. Whatever gives him the best chance to get back to 100%, even if the odds are low and it's risky.

 

[Wild11MN]

I just noticed this... apparently it's intense leg pain, not back pain right now. I won't pretend to be a doctor here, but it seems like the fact that it's not his back is a good thing, though it would still be "back surgery". So who knows.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

I just noticed this... apparently it's intense leg pain, not back pain right now. I won't pretend to be a doctor here, but it seems like the fact that it's not his back is a good thing, though it would still be "back surgery". So who knows.

Pinched/problems with nerves in the back often radiates pain to the area further from the back. A friend needed back surgery earlier last month and his symptoms were pain, tingling, and burning in his hand.