The Wild will open their season at home against the Avalanche, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Michael Russo. The NHL should officially release the schedules of all the teams as soon as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is signed. Minnesota was 3-3-0 versus Colorado last season.

Zach Parise still thinks there's hope for the 2012-13 campaign. Talks broke down yet again on Thursday, but there's still time to work out a deal. ƒ?oI donƒ?Tt think itƒ?Ts as dramatic as everyoneƒ?Ts trying to make it,ƒ?? Parise said. ƒ?oI donƒ?Tt 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 thatƒ?Ts not a total derailment of a negotiation. I think people are being a little dramatic thinking this is Doomsday, which I donƒ?Tt believe.ƒ??

As their schedule is right now, a Nov. 2 start to the 2012-13 season would present serious challenges to the Minnesota Wild. They would begin the season with a six-game road trip and play nine of their first 12 games away from home according to their current schedule. This assumes that the regular season would actually start on Nov. 2, though. Also, the schedule is subject to change, but the bottom line is it would be a tough start in that scenario. Patience would be advisable with Minnesota's stars.

High-profile forward Zach Parise of the Minnesota Wild has had some strong words about NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during the lockout. The lockout is "terrible for the game," Parise said. "There's no other way to put it. It's bad for the game. It's unfortunate for the fans. It's brutal." Asked how long this could go considering both sides have shown no willingness to bridge the gap, Parise said, "You hope it doesn't go too long, but it's tough to grasp when you've got a guy in Gary Bettman bragging every year that we're making 'record revenue, record revenue, record this,' and all of a sudden they want to take a quarter of what you've made away. That doesn't make sense to anybody. It doesn't matter what industry you're in."

Minnesota Wild star Zach Parise, who is throwing ideas around about having a charity game in October, says he has an opportunity to play for a team he wouldn't disclose in Switzerland and he will make that decision soon if the labor meetings this weekend appear to go nowhere. "Keeping our fingers crossed," Parise said. "I think every one's still in a holding pattern waiting to see where this is going, but at some point, you have to worry about yourself and make sure you're ready to play." If he leaves before the charity game, he said the show can still go on, but it may be without him. Players today said that if talks this weekend go nowhere, they can see a flood of guys going overseas.

The lockout is likely to quiet the buzz surrounding the Wild. The Wild made two hugh signings this offseason in bringing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter aboard but the lockout is sure to put the hype on hold. "Awful timing, it really is," Parise said. "I can't tell you how many people have come up to me in public and said how excited they are for the season. And for that to be in jeopardy is unfortunate. There's a great energy in the state right now for this team."

Zach Parise turned down a bigger contract offer to sign with the Minnesota Wild. Parise wanted to play with fellow UFA Ryan Suter and when the two decided on the Wild, Parise suggested that they sign identical deals even though Minnesota offered him more money. He was also apparently offered over #110 million by the Flyers and Suter was offered over $100 million by an unnamed NHL team. Everyone is excited in Minnesota and there is good reason to be. Look for Parise to play alongside Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley, especially on the power play.

Minnesota's free agent spending has energized their fanbase. The Wild called 15 sales reps into action after Wednesday's announcement that the team had signed both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter and in two hours 500 season tickets were sold and by the evening the count had raised to upward of 700. "With the exception of the day the franchise was granted -- and I've been here since then -- no day matches up to this," chief operating officer Matt Majka said. "We're enjoying every minute of this." Parise's No. 11 sweater and Suter's No. 20 jersey went on sale at the team store Thursday morning and you can bet those will be popular as well.

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have been interested in playing on the same team for a while. "Ryan and I had talked throughout the year," said Parise. "You always say to each other, 'Wouldn't it be great to have a chance to play with each other and to play on the same team?' I know how great of a player Ryan is ... and to have an opportunity to play with a guy of that caliber, it's a great opportunity." Parise and Suter will join the likes of Dany Heatley and Mikko Koivu on the Wild. They might not be a Stanley Cup contender yet, but they certainly have a superb core.

Zach Parise said it was difficult for him to choose between playing for his home state in Minnesota or returning to the New Jersey Devils. "It was very hard; I loved playing in New Jersey. It's a first-class organization," he said. "I can't say enough about Lou and the staff. It was very hard to leave, but at the end of the day, I thought it would be great to play at home." His choice was narrowed between the two organizations after he eliminated Pittsburgh from the equation. He will earn an average salary-cap hit of $7.538 million per season and is set to make $12 million in each of his first two years with the Wild due to a $10 million signing bonus and a $2 million base salary.