This Day in Hockey History – July 4, 2012 – Midwesterners Go Wild for Minnesota

Jul 4, 2019

0 1110

After seven years playing for their original NHL teams, Midwesterners Zach Parise and Ryan Suter joined up to play the past seven seasons for the Minnesota Wild. On the most American date of 2012, July 4, these Team U.S.A. teammates returned to their roots.

The two legacy players were born about six months apart in neighboring states. Parise, the elder, was born July 28, 1984 in Minneapolis, the “twin” to the Wild’s home St. Paul. His father, J.P. Parise, skated with and coached the Minnesota North Stars. The slightly-younger Suter was born January 21, 1985 in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. His father, Bob Suter, earned a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics. Their close birth dates meant that they both became members of the much-touted Class of 2003. Even with all the talent at that NHL entry draft, they both were selected in the first round – Suter as 7th overall and Parise as 17th overall.

Both Parise and Suter began their NHL careers in 2005, and over the next seven seasons, they became players “pursued by every heavy-weight team.” In his final season with the New Jersey Devils, Parise captained the team to the Stanley Cup Final. A left wing, he averaged .82 points per game. Meanwhile, Suter scored 46 points in his final season with the Nashville Predators, which ranked him tenth among NHL defensemen. Parise ranked fourth in goals (194) in Devils history while Suter ranked fourth in assists (200) out of the Predators. In points, Suter was eighth (with 238) out of the Predators, and Parise ninth (with 410) for New Jersey.

On Sunday, July 1, 2012, Parise and Suter became free agents and began texting each other. Parise explained, “Ryan and I had talked throughout the year. You always say to each other, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a chance to play with each other and to play on the same team?’ I know how great of a player Ryan is … and to have an opportunity to play with a guy of that caliber, it’s a great opportunity.” They had become even better friends at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and won the silver medal even though Parise scored the tying goal that forced the finale into overtime.

That Sunday, the Wild began talks with Parise, and he was on board by Monday. After Suter met with the Wild on Tuesday, he and Parise called each other to review their options. Wild owner Crain Leipold (who had recently owned the Preds) said, “At the end, we felt like everything was coming together. Ryan and Zach were communicating with each other and were almost in control of the whole process, and it was at that point you really felt like this was going to happen.” According to Parise, “Ryan and I like what they’re doing here in Minnesota. We like the young players they’ve drafted, the goaltending. They’ve got the pieces. Our hope is we can come in and help this team get to where everyone wants it to go.”

To do that, they proposed and received matching 13-year contracts for $98 million each. Leipold handed them each $10 million signing bonuses to sweeten the pot and said, “These guys could go to any team. They were offered more money. We know it – by a number of teams. These guys decided this was the team. They spent so much time looking at our prospects, looking at our players and talking to some of the players. And they made the decision that they were coming here.”

In the end, both players, the Wild, and the teams that lost out on the players all felt that the decision to sign with the Wild could be boiled down to home and family. Leipold admitted, “It was Minnesota. It was the Midwest. I’m not trying to get corny here, but it was the ‘State of Hockey.’ … They’re not just coming here because it’s Minnesota. They’re coming here to win in Minnesota.” Parise, who said he would be sporting his father’s No. 11, told the press, “Just the opportunity to play at home, it really meant a lot to me, it meant a lot to my family. Every kid who’s grown up in Minnesota would love to play for the Wild. That’s the way it is.” Suter’s wife Becky hailed from Bloomington (former home of the North Stars), so they wished to raise their family in Minnesota. Newly retired former star of the North Stars Mike Modano tweeted, “Can I come back and play in Minnesota too?” Leipold kidded, “They drove this bus, and we’re just lucky they drove it to Minnesota.”

Naturally, the Wild celebrated their coup in signing both Parise and Suter. GM Chuck Fletcher noted, “Our goal in signing them wasn’t to make a splash. It’s to make our team better.” However, he also exclaimed, “This is a great day in the history of the Minnesota Wild … As for Ryan and Zach, we are extremely excited to add their skill, their experience and their character to what we feel is already a pretty promising roster.” Wild defenseman Tom Gilbert, who lived near Parise and played at Madison with Suter, commented, “I wish the season was starting right now. I mean, could we have gotten better news today?”

In an open letter to the fans, Leipold wrote, “Finally and most importantly, I felt like we had a ‘secret weapon’ working in our favor during these negotiations…the spirit and dedication of you fans of the State of Hockey. It’s no secret that both Zach and Ryan have strong ties to this area. They’ve had first-hand experience with the extraordinary pride and unrelenting passion of our fans. Ultimately, I firmly believe that you fans were the deciding factor in their decision and so my final ‘thank you’ is reserved for you.” The fans responded by purchasing 700 full-season tickets in less than five hours – the biggest rush since the franchise was first announced.

Since they signed, Minnesota has only missed the playoffs twice, whereas they had not made the playoffs in the four seasons before the signing. Parise had injury issues during the 2017-18 season, but he returned showing how much he still brings up the play of everyone around him. Suter, despite spending last summer recovering from an ankle injury, is considered the Wild’s top defenseman, steady not flashy. Their contracts still have six more seasons, taking them to 2025.