SB Nation Minnesota - Minnesota Wild Pull Off A Blockbuster, Hauling In Both Zach Parise And Ryan Suter

Minnesota Wild Re-Sign 3 Players; Close To Deal With Nick Palmieri, According To Report

2012-07-30T23:42:55Z

According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Minnesota Wild have re-signed David McIntyre, Carson McMillan and Jarod Palmer. All three players spent the majority of the 2011-12 season with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, the minor league affiliate of the Wild.

In addition, Russo reports that the team is close to a deal with restricted free agent Nick Palmieri.

Back in town. Housekeeping items: #MNWild has re-signed David McIntyre,Carson McMillan, Jarod Palmer. Nick Palmieri said to be close
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 30, 2012

Palmieri was picked with the No. 79 overall selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils and spent the last two seasons playing with the club before being acquired by the Wild on February 24 via trade.

He has played in 78 career games at the NHL level registering 13 goals and 12 assists for a total of 25 points.

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NHL Free Agency: Zach Parise, Ryan Suter Hope To Make Minnesota A Destination For Players, According To Report

2012-07-10T16:03:03Z

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who each signed free-agent deals with the Minnesota Wild, hope to make Minnesota a coveted landing spot for NHL free agents, according to the Associated Press.

Parise and Suter inked identical 13-year, $98 million contracts with the Wild. The move has generated plenty of excitement within the organization -- and hopefully outside of it, as well.

From the AP:

When Parise and fellow blue-chip free agent Ryan Suter decided to sign matching 13-year, $98 million contracts with the Wild, part of their aim was to turn Minnesota into a destination for the best pros in the league.

"I think at the end of the day, hopefully, with Ryan and I coming here, good players want to play with good players," Parise said Monday when he was introduced along with Suter at a press conference. "Hopefully that helps influence some people if they need some and we have a lot of friends around the league so hopefully that will help, too."

There's a certain chip on the collective shoulder of sports fans in these parts who have grown tired of being overshadowed by the big cities and seeing their teams passed over time and again by the most high-profile free agents in favor of sexier locales.

The Wild have not made any free agent acquisitions since signing Parise and Suter, who were formally introduced at the Xcel Energy Center on Monday.

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Ryan Suter, Zach Parise Already Causing Uptick In Ticket Sales And Expectations, According To Report

2012-07-10T13:39:29Z

The Minnesota Wild formally introduced Ryan Suter and Zach Parise at a Monday press conference at the Xcel Energy Center, the first public appearance by the free agent duo since they signed with the Wild.

According to an article from The Star Tribune, there is already a buzz surrounding the team heading into next season.

From the article:

"First things first, I've got to pinch myself," said owner Craig Leipold... "Free agents of Zach's and Ryan's caliber are often attracted to the major markets, where there is more attention, brighter spotlights and, frankly, more money. These two chose Minnesota ... and in doing so have transformed our franchise. We've all walked a little taller since July 4th."

Leipold invited the entire Wild staff to the news conference....The looks on their faces conveyed just how much big of a morale booster this has been for a staff that feels losses, in a lot of ways, harder than the players.

Parise and Suter jerseys are flying off the shelves. Almost 2,000 season-tickets have been sold....

Minnesota was 35-36-11 last season, but it pulled the offseason's headline coup by inking identical 13-year, $98 million deal with Suter and Parise.

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Zach Parise, Ryan Suter Named Alternate Captains For Wild In 2012-13

2012-07-09T19:02:52Z

The Minnesota Wild shocked the world when they pulled off the dual-signings of top free agents Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Both players were speculated about for months leading up to the end of the season, with a plethora of teams reportedly showing interest in the clear top-two free agents. At the last minute, it was reported that the two free agents would like to play for the same team, and then the Wild came out on top.

On Monday, the Wild introduced Parise and Suter to the press, with both players sporting jerseys with an "A" on them. That stands for "Alternate," as both players will be alternate captains for the team in 2012-13. Pro Hockey Talk had a quote from head coach Mike Yeo about the honor:

"[You don't make] the type of commitment for these types of players unless you bring in two quality human beings," Yeo said. "What they do on the ice speaks for itself, but what they will add to our group from a leadership and character standpoint - they're going to play a huge role for us, and we're expecting them to be leaders for a long time."

That's high praise for these guys, who certainly haven't had a chance to spend a large amount of time with the guys in the locker room. Being named a captain or alternate captain in hockey is always a big deal, and with matching 13-year contracts, these two guys will have a chance to be long-time leaders for the Wild. Mikko Koivu is the captain going forward, but Parise and Suter are leap-frogging Dany Heatley and Matt Cullen for the alternate spots.

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NHL Free Agency 2012: Minnesota Wild Sign Defenseman Brian Connelly

2012-07-07T00:30:04Z

The Minnesota Wild grabbed headlines in this month when they landed big fish free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Minnesota hauled in another free agent on Friday, albeit a smaller one. Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on Friday that the Wild added defenseman Brian Connelly.

Source says #mnwild signs offensive Dman Brian Connelly of Bloomington to a 2-year, 2-way deal (2nd-leading AHL blue-line scorer last yr)
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 6, 2012

Connelly scored six goals and 52 points in the AHL last year splitting time between the Rockford IceHogs and Abbotsford Heat. He was second in scoring among all defensemen in the AHL in 2011-2012. He will battle in the preseason to make the final roster for the Wild, but his scoring touch is more than enough to intrigue fans and the coaching staff.

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Ryan Suter, Zach Parise Contracts Won't Hurt Minnesota Wild's Salary Cap

2012-07-06T19:28:33Z

The Minnesota Wild were the clear-cut winners in the 2012 free agency class when they managed to retain the services of the two biggest players on the open market with identical 13-year, $98 million contracts to both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.

However, along with their talents comes the burden of a huge financial commitment in the salary cap era, which potentially could cause problems down the line. Due to some creative contract structuring and foresight by the Minnesota front-office, that shouldn't become an issue.

Here is the structure of both Parise and Suter's contract via Twin Cities:

2012-13: $10 million signing bonus, $2 million base salary
2013-14: $10 million signing bonus, $2 million base salary
2014-15: $5 million signing bonus, $6 million base salary
2015-16: $9 million base salary
2016-17: $9 million base salary
2017-18: $9 million base salary
2018-19: $9 million base salary
2019-20: $9 million base salary
2020-21: $8 million base salary
2021-22: $6 million base salary
2022-23: $2 million base salary
2023-24: $1 million base salary
2024-25: $1 million base salary

By structuring the deals like this, both payers will have an annual cap-hit of $7.53 million per season despite the changes in real money being paid.

This actually saves the club a little over $2 million dollars in terms of the cap-hit during the peak years of the deal when the organization is paying the two players $9 million dollars in real money.

Most importantly, the Wild are only committed to Parise, Suter and Mikko Koivu past the 2014-15 season, which will allow the team to have salary cap relief throughout the years. While the club probably won't be making any more huge splashes any time soon, they will have a superstar core to develop around.

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Zach Parise Explains How He Ended Up With The Minnesota Wild

2012-07-05T23:00:19Z

A little over 24 hours after becoming the newest member of the Minnesota Wild, Zach Parise joined NHL's Network's nightly show NHL Live to explain how he ended up deciding to play for the Wild.

"I think it was probably around the late evening of the third into the morning of the fourth that we decided it would be the best fit for us and we couldn't be happier," Parise responded.

After free agency officially opened on July 1 at noon, Parise was bombarded with offers from a reported 20 teams, all of which offered him tens of millions of dollars to come to their city.

Despite leading the New Jersey Devils to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, Parise decided he wanted to come to Minnesota to be close to his family and friends.

This decision, however, left him with a difficult phone call to make to Devils general manager and president, Lou Lamoriello who drafted Parise with the No. 17 overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

"Lou, no question," Parise said when asked about the hardest part of the decision. "We had been talking throughout the whole process, Lou and I had. Everyday we were talking and I was giving him updates and keeping in touch. It was a very hard call just because of what that organization had done for me."

In addition to Parise, the Wild also managed to sign the best defensive option on the open market in Ryan Suter, which left many surprised.

However, Parise explained that the two had been discussing the concept for quite some time.

"It was something we had definitely talked about throughout the season, just the idea of getting the chance to play together would be great," he said. "We had talked a little bit through the season [...] as it got closer to July 1 we kept in touch. Luckily the place that we both wanted to play had the room [in their salary cap]."

Now that he has returned home to seemingly finish out his career, Parise will have to deal with all his family members bugging him about getting tickets to games.

"We're gonna be season ticket holders pretty soon so we're gonna have to get some extra ones," he said. "For us to be closer to our family is something we're really looking forward to."

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NHL Free Agency 2012: Justin Falk Agrees To 1-Year, $875,000 Extension With Minnesota Wild

2012-07-05T21:00:20Z

On Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Wild came to terms on a one-year, one-way contract with restricted free agent Justin Falk worth $875,000. The deal came just in time, as Falk was 15 minutes away from being eligible to file for arbitration.

#mnwild agrees to terms with defenseman Justin Falk on a one-year deal 15 minutes before he could have filed for arbitration
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 5, 2012

The 6-foot-5, 215 pound defenseman is known for his agility and toughness.

Over three seasons, Falk has played 72 games with the Wild, reaching a career high of 47 in 2011-12 campaign. Still considered a rookie last season due to the amount of games he has played, the 23-year old ranked sixth in ice-time minutes and eighth in blocked shots amongst all rookies.

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