Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom has agreed to play for Dynamo Minsk as the lockout drags on, the KHL team announced Tuesday.

The Finnish player moved to North America in 2006 making 327 appearances for Minnesota so far during six seasons.

"Niklas is a student of our goalie coach Ari Hilly," the team’s sports director Igor Matushkin said on its website.

"The goaltender wanted to play for Dynamo during the lockout and has agreed to sign a contract on reasonable terms with our team.”

The 34 year old is expected to join up with the Belarusian team by the weekend after resolving visa issues.

The deadline for averting a lockout passed Saturday after the NHL and the players’ association failed to agree terms on a new collective contract.

According to KHL regulations, contracts with incoming NHL players must include a get-out clause in case the lockout is resolved.

It sparked a flurry of trades, the highest-profile of which has been Evgeni Malkin's return to Metallurg Magnitogorsk.