This is really frustrating news. It looked like Parker was fully recovered, especially with that goal. Without Parker, the Sharks have willing middleweights like
Scott Thornton and
Rob Davison, even
Mark Smith is willing to go, but no true heavyweight anywhere in the system that could replace Parker.
It pains me to say this, but Parker out of the lineup really showed up when the Sharks faced Nashville, and
Darcy Hordichuk mopped the rink with Smith. God bless Smith for trying, but it just showed that the Preds have a real total package that the Sharks are a notch under- in speed, in scoring, and especially in toughness, and that takes into account the addition of
Joe Thornton.