Minnesota’s Zach Parise hasn’t been one to shy away from speaking his mind during the lockout. He’s called out Gary Bettman and spoken freely about blaming the owners, except his own of course.
After seeing talks fall apart on Thursday, many have been saying how it could ruin talks the rest of the way and kill the season. Parise tells Michael Russo of The Star-Tribune he isn’t buying that at all.
“I don’t think it’s as dramatic as everyone’s trying to make it,” Parise said. “I don’t know the ins and outs of everything. But we have an agreement on a lot of things, I mean, a lot of things. There are still one or two things that need to be talked about, and in my eyes that’s not a total derailment of a negotiation. I think people are being a little dramatic thinking this is Doomsday, which I don’t believe.”
People being dramatic during the lockout? No way...
Truth here is Parise’s right. Thursday’s very public blowup feels almost like it was all for show but both sides are closer than they were before they hunkered down to meet for three days. Time will tell if that’s actually true or not, but both sides clearly need to play this season.