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Zach Parise is mad at owners but doesn’t single out Craig Leipold

Minnesota Wild Introduce Zach Parise and Ryan Suter - Press Conference

ST PAUL, MN - JULY 9: Craig Leipold, owner of the Minnesota Wild poses for pictures with Zach Parise #11 during a press conference on July 9, 2012 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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Minnesota’s Zach Parise has been pretty vocal when it comes to calling out the owners as the lockout rages on. He’s sounded off before, but after seeing the NHL reject the players’ union’s three proposals this afternoon, he’s got his dander up again.

Parise tells Michael Russo of The Star-Tribune he’s upset about how the owners conducted business this summer with a lockout on the horizon they knew they’d put into effect and Wild owner Craig Leipold sort of gets called out.

“You have all these owners signing big deals minutes before the CBA expires and then going the next day, ‘We don’t want to pay these contracts,’” Parise said. “Maybe that’s how they conduct business. That just doesn’t seem right. What if us players signed a deal and said, ‘You know what, I actually want 15 percent more?’”

Russo asked Parise if he was, indeed, calling out Leipold and he wisely said he wasn’t “pointing fingers” at anyone. Hmm.

Leipold, of course, signed Parise and Ryan Suter to identical 13-year, $98 million contracts this summer. Meanwhile, Leipold is one of the owners leading negotiations for their side, precisely one of the owners Parise would be calling out if he were assessing blame.

Awkward.