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After nearly a year of speculation, and days of nervous waiting, it has happened.
Zach Parise has signed with his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild. Being a Wild fan, once the playoffs started, hope for this signing alone was nonexistent. Wild fans knew they wanted either Parise or Suter, but Parise (from St. Paul) was the top priority. That's not to take away from Suter. They're both extremely talented hockey players and we'd be lucky to land either. But for most fans, the hometown hero was their first choice. Would we settle for Suter had Parise gone elsewhere? Absolutely. Last season, when the Wild fell from league leader to out of a playoff spot, the organization obviously needed a top end Defenseman or a top end Forward. Now, they have both.
At last season's trade deadline, the Wild traded veteran defenseman Nick Schultz to the Edmonton Oilers for hometown boy Tom Gilbert. The move was thought by many to be a marketing technique to lure Parise or Suter (who is a known good friend of Gilbert). But still, hope was next to none. With Parise and Suter both hitting free agency at the end of the season, a number of teams were set to clean up their rosters to pull in one member of the pair. The offseason began, and a few teams cleared out enough cap space for at least one of the two, with a number of those teams clearing space for both. Those teams included Minnesota, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.
When free agency began this past Sunday, Minnesota submitted its offers and pitch to both top free agents, with the hope of convincing one of them to come home. A number of fans clamored outside the Xcel Energy Center adorned in custom made t-shirts that read, "Come Home Zach!" No decision was made by either on Sunday, as to be expected. At this point, the realists among Wild fans were certain that we wouldn't end up with either, since it just wasn't probable. Those over at Hockey Wilderness cast aside the possibility months ago of a double signing, saying we'd need a hell of a lot more than Tom Gilbert to pull this off. One could specifically recall a post by one of their staff, which was a mock conversation between Gilbert, Parise and Suter, where Gilbert suggested to them that they all play for Minnesota so that it would be like the good ole' days of Team USA, and proceeded to laugh off the possibility.
Monday, July 2nd came and went without a decision by either free agent, but Suter noted that he was going to let Parise sign first before his decision. On that day, however, Wild officials met with Parise to finalize their pitch on the team's youth and future. Then came Tuesday, and all was quiet from both the free agents and the teams pushing for them. The hope level was dropping quickly, especially in St. Paul. To the fans anyway. In the front offices of the Wild organization, another story was being written, and discreetly. That day, Minnesota owner Leipold, coach Mike Yeo, and Fletcher all flew to Madison to meet with Suter. After the Wild's officials left, Parise and Suter had a final phone conversation and it became clear to both of them.
Finally, July 4th arrived, and with the celebration of our nation's independence, came another celebration, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The announcement was made by team owner Craig Leipold. They'd done it. Zach Parise was coming home to the Minnesota Wild!!! And not only that, but Ryan Suter was coming as well!!! Wild fans rejoiced as the two top end players the team so badly craved were on their way. Wild enforcer Matt Kassian tweeted, "I don't usually tweet about hockey, but this is just too exciting. Welcome to the State of Hockey Zach Parise and Ryan Suter!"
Parise stated that leaving the only team of his NHL career was tough, and that there were only two teams in his running. "Leaving was tough, and had I not signed with Minnesota, I would have gone back to New Jersey. I talked with Lou (Lamoriello) and he was good about everything. He understood."
Suter was similar with his comments. "I didn't want to play in the East, so that dropped Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Philly out of the equation." He said calling Nashville's General Manager was "the toughest phone call I've ever had to make." After the call, Suter called defensive partner in Nashville, Shea Weber (also Nashville's captain), to let him know before news of the signing dropped. "He was completely understanding. He told me, 'you do what you have to do.'" Nashville now finds themselves in a tight spot in trying to re-sign Weber, which obviously would be easier to do had they locked Suter in this year.
It now seems like a situation similar to the stacking of the Miami heat, when they pulled in a number of elite players, including LeBron James. Why does it seem that way? Because Parise and Suter had a plan. Zach stated, "I talked to Ryan a lot during the season, and a lot over the past few days when the decision was coming close. We'd always say, 'wouldn't it be awesome if we could play for the same team next year?'" Now it's a reality. Chuck Fletcher received the phone call from Suter this morning. Parise arrived in Minnesota on Tuesday to meet with his family, but told reporters that his location had nothing to do with his eventual decision. He was fibbing. He later told media he was sold on Monday by Minnesota's pitch. Zach's call followed and the package deal was complete. Quite possibly the biggest signing in NHL Free Agency history came and went, relatively quietly. Somehow, word never got out from the Wild camp before the official announcement. Only half did. The Star Tribune reported that the Wild had signed Suter and were working on Parise. They had no idea that by that point, Parise was already signed.
Chuck Fletcher noted, "we just took away all our employees' phones until we were ready." Leipold wrote a letter to let the fans know of the massive signing. He noted that he felt the Wild always had one secret weapon to help them pull in the two free agents: The passion and dedication of the Wild fans. He may be right. In Parise's case, there were two fanbases that could be heartbroken more than any other in the running. New Jersey, should he leave, and Minnesota, should he go anywhere besides the Wild.
At the end of the day, it's unbelievable. The shock still hasn't set in. It's going to take a while. But the deal is done. Both Parise and Suter ended up with matching 13 year contracts worth $98 Million. For those keeping track, that averages $7.5 Million a year. Parise noted that they aimed for a reasonable average so that the team could pursue other players at a later stage.
According to Parise, the offer was important, but the opportunity to play for his home team with a number of young and talented prospects trying to get their foot in the door was far more important. He obviously means it since Detroit and Pittsburgh threw quite a bit more money at him, and likely at Suter. It now looks as if the Wild is a serious playoff contender, with their 5 free agents added. Parise and Suter (from Wisconsin, wife a native of Bloomington, MN) now have a chance to do what hockey players dream of: Win the Stanley Cup for your home team. They've got 13 years to do it.
The Wild's Free Agent Frenzy:
DEPARTING OR NOT YET SIGNED
Guillaume Latendresse - Ottawa Senators
Kurtis Foster
Nick Johnson
SIGNED AND RE-SIGNED
Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils
Ryan Suter - Nashville Predators
Zenon Kenopka - Ottawa Senators
Torrey Mitchell - San Jose Sharks
Jake Dowell - Dallas Stars
Matt Kassian - Minnesota Wild
Stephane Veilleux - Minnesota Wild
Chad Rau - Minnesota Wild
Josh Harding - Minnesota Wild
Chay Genoway - Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise has signed with his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild. Being a Wild fan, once the playoffs started, hope for this signing alone was nonexistent. Wild fans knew they wanted either Parise or Suter, but Parise (from St. Paul) was the top priority. That's not to take away from Suter. They're both extremely talented hockey players and we'd be lucky to land either. But for most fans, the hometown hero was their first choice. Would we settle for Suter had Parise gone elsewhere? Absolutely. Last season, when the Wild fell from league leader to out of a playoff spot, the organization obviously needed a top end Defenseman or a top end Forward. Now, they have both.
At last season's trade deadline, the Wild traded veteran defenseman Nick Schultz to the Edmonton Oilers for hometown boy Tom Gilbert. The move was thought by many to be a marketing technique to lure Parise or Suter (who is a known good friend of Gilbert). But still, hope was next to none. With Parise and Suter both hitting free agency at the end of the season, a number of teams were set to clean up their rosters to pull in one member of the pair. The offseason began, and a few teams cleared out enough cap space for at least one of the two, with a number of those teams clearing space for both. Those teams included Minnesota, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.
When free agency began this past Sunday, Minnesota submitted its offers and pitch to both top free agents, with the hope of convincing one of them to come home. A number of fans clamored outside the Xcel Energy Center adorned in custom made t-shirts that read, "Come Home Zach!" No decision was made by either on Sunday, as to be expected. At this point, the realists among Wild fans were certain that we wouldn't end up with either, since it just wasn't probable. Those over at Hockey Wilderness cast aside the possibility months ago of a double signing, saying we'd need a hell of a lot more than Tom Gilbert to pull this off. One could specifically recall a post by one of their staff, which was a mock conversation between Gilbert, Parise and Suter, where Gilbert suggested to them that they all play for Minnesota so that it would be like the good ole' days of Team USA, and proceeded to laugh off the possibility.
Monday, July 2nd came and went without a decision by either free agent, but Suter noted that he was going to let Parise sign first before his decision. On that day, however, Wild officials met with Parise to finalize their pitch on the team's youth and future. Then came Tuesday, and all was quiet from both the free agents and the teams pushing for them. The hope level was dropping quickly, especially in St. Paul. To the fans anyway. In the front offices of the Wild organization, another story was being written, and discreetly. That day, Minnesota owner Leipold, coach Mike Yeo, and Fletcher all flew to Madison to meet with Suter. After the Wild's officials left, Parise and Suter had a final phone conversation and it became clear to both of them.
Finally, July 4th arrived, and with the celebration of our nation's independence, came another celebration, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The announcement was made by team owner Craig Leipold. They'd done it. Zach Parise was coming home to the Minnesota Wild!!! And not only that, but Ryan Suter was coming as well!!! Wild fans rejoiced as the two top end players the team so badly craved were on their way. Wild enforcer Matt Kassian tweeted, "I don't usually tweet about hockey, but this is just too exciting. Welcome to the State of Hockey Zach Parise and Ryan Suter!"
Parise stated that leaving the only team of his NHL career was tough, and that there were only two teams in his running. "Leaving was tough, and had I not signed with Minnesota, I would have gone back to New Jersey. I talked with Lou (Lamoriello) and he was good about everything. He understood."
Suter was similar with his comments. "I didn't want to play in the East, so that dropped Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Philly out of the equation." He said calling Nashville's General Manager was "the toughest phone call I've ever had to make." After the call, Suter called defensive partner in Nashville, Shea Weber (also Nashville's captain), to let him know before news of the signing dropped. "He was completely understanding. He told me, 'you do what you have to do.'" Nashville now finds themselves in a tight spot in trying to re-sign Weber, which obviously would be easier to do had they locked Suter in this year.
It now seems like a situation similar to the stacking of the Miami heat, when they pulled in a number of elite players, including LeBron James. Why does it seem that way? Because Parise and Suter had a plan. Zach stated, "I talked to Ryan a lot during the season, and a lot over the past few days when the decision was coming close. We'd always say, 'wouldn't it be awesome if we could play for the same team next year?'" Now it's a reality. Chuck Fletcher received the phone call from Suter this morning. Parise arrived in Minnesota on Tuesday to meet with his family, but told reporters that his location had nothing to do with his eventual decision. He was fibbing. He later told media he was sold on Monday by Minnesota's pitch. Zach's call followed and the package deal was complete. Quite possibly the biggest signing in NHL Free Agency history came and went, relatively quietly. Somehow, word never got out from the Wild camp before the official announcement. Only half did. The Star Tribune reported that the Wild had signed Suter and were working on Parise. They had no idea that by that point, Parise was already signed.
Chuck Fletcher noted, "we just took away all our employees' phones until we were ready." Leipold wrote a letter to let the fans know of the massive signing. He noted that he felt the Wild always had one secret weapon to help them pull in the two free agents: The passion and dedication of the Wild fans. He may be right. In Parise's case, there were two fanbases that could be heartbroken more than any other in the running. New Jersey, should he leave, and Minnesota, should he go anywhere besides the Wild.
At the end of the day, it's unbelievable. The shock still hasn't set in. It's going to take a while. But the deal is done. Both Parise and Suter ended up with matching 13 year contracts worth $98 Million. For those keeping track, that averages $7.5 Million a year. Parise noted that they aimed for a reasonable average so that the team could pursue other players at a later stage.
According to Parise, the offer was important, but the opportunity to play for his home team with a number of young and talented prospects trying to get their foot in the door was far more important. He obviously means it since Detroit and Pittsburgh threw quite a bit more money at him, and likely at Suter. It now looks as if the Wild is a serious playoff contender, with their 5 free agents added. Parise and Suter (from Wisconsin, wife a native of Bloomington, MN) now have a chance to do what hockey players dream of: Win the Stanley Cup for your home team. They've got 13 years to do it.
The Wild's Free Agent Frenzy:
DEPARTING OR NOT YET SIGNED
Guillaume Latendresse - Ottawa Senators
Kurtis Foster
Nick Johnson
SIGNED AND RE-SIGNED
Zach Parise - New Jersey Devils
Ryan Suter - Nashville Predators
Zenon Kenopka - Ottawa Senators
Torrey Mitchell - San Jose Sharks
Jake Dowell - Dallas Stars
Matt Kassian - Minnesota Wild
Stephane Veilleux - Minnesota Wild
Chad Rau - Minnesota Wild
Josh Harding - Minnesota Wild
Chay Genoway - Minnesota Wild
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