After get shelved for the final game of the season and the Wild’s full postseason run, Zach Parise will not require back surgery, reports Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune.
The back injury, despite speculation that it was a hit from Logan Couture that caused it, built up over time he said. It had previously been reported that Parise’s injury could require back surgery over the summer.
“I don’t know how it happened, but it started in late January,” Parise told Hartman. “I started getting a little uncomfortable in late January and it just hung around until the end of the year, and then I took a hit at the end of the year that I guess pushed it over the edge to where I couldn’t play anymore. It was there for a long time.”
Parise hopes that rehab will take care of the issue and that there won’t be any lingering issues headed into next season.
“I mean the doctors are really happy with the progress I’ve made so far, and they’re not worried about it dragging into next season or being a continual problem,” Parise said. “You never know, because things can happen, but I’m hoping that after some rehab I’ll be in the clear and not have to worry about it anymore.”
He also told Hartman that he wasn’t asked for his opinion with the team’s hiring of former Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau.