The Minnesota Wild have officially won free agency.
That’s the big news on this July 4 holiday as the Wild announced they’ve landed both of this year’s prize UFAs — former Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter and former New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise.
The deals cost Minnesota a fortune. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports the pair got matching 13-year, $98 million contracts, meaning both will have an average annual cap hit of $7.54 million.
And yes, the Wild just dropped $196 million dollars.
This will go down as one of, if not the, biggest days in franchise history. The Wild instantly become a Western Conference contender and may have shifted the landscape in terms of free agent philosophy — in a market where heavy hitters like Chicago, Detroit and Pittsburgh were all angling for Suter and Parise’s services, a team that’s missed the playoffs four straight years (and never been considered a big spender) reeled in the two biggest fish.
(From ProHockeyTalk.com)
Josh Harding just became a better goaltender.
ReplyDeleteParise isn't that surprising, but Suter is. I thought for sure he ended up in Dertroit.
ReplyDeleteGreg
What's with all the big money contracts? Isn't this why we went a year without hockey?
ReplyDelete