NHL lockout could send Zach Parise to Switzerland

The NHL lockout is beginning to weigh on players across the league, but Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise will be watching upcoming negotiations very closely because he says he has an offer from a team to play in Switzerland during the stoppage.

Parise recently told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune that he will make a decision on that offer soon, if the meetings over the weekend appeared to go nowhere.

Representatives for the NHL and NHLPA are scheduled to meet in New York to have another round of negotiations over the weekend, but talks are expected to focus on secondary issues like travel pensions rather than the core economic issues dividing the two parties.

Parise and others have been organizing charity games and workouts, but the 28-year-old left wing expressed concerns about his own health and his preparation for hockey activities when the NHL does finally commence operations again. The Wild signed Parise as a free agent July 4.