Former Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter finds (another) his new team

So it was fitting this evening, when Suter signed a one-year deal with his fourth NHL team. And guess who he signed with? Yet another MN Wild Central Division rival, the St. Louis Blues.

Ryan Suter, welcome to St. Louis.

DETAILS ➡️ https://t.co/2cysVriYFr

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) July 10, 2024

A couple of weeks ago, the 39-year-old grizzled veteran was written into the NHL history books when the Dallas Stars made him just the second player ever to be bought out two times during his career. But immediately, it became pretty clear that he had little interest in retirement.

Related: Ryan Suter Was a Bad Teammate Before Wild

Another thing that Ryan Suter has little interest in? Leaving the Central Division. As mentioned earlier, the St. Louis Blues will mark the fourth team of Suter’s NHL career. If you haven’t noticed, all four of them (Predators, Wild, Stars and Blues) play in the Central. He just refuses to leave.

What are the St. Louis Blues getting in geriatric Ryan Suter?

Last season with the Stars, Suter played a top-4 defensive role and averaged 18:56 minutes of time on ice. He was certainly still capable, but his numbers showed a clear decline. The Madison, WI native potted just two goals and found teammates for just 15 others. 17 points was Suter’s lowest since his rookie season back in 2005-2006.

Related: Bill Guerin Chose Cap Hell Over “Uncoachable” Ryan Suter and Zach Parise

In his final season with the Minnesota Wild (2020-21), Suter played just 56 games… yet still managed 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists). During his first two seasons in Dallas, Suter averaged over 22 minutes per night and scored a total of 57 points, nearly 10 more points more per season than what he managed last year.

Nonetheless, Suter remains a worthy defenseman, even into his age 40 season. There was no doubt Suter would find another team. Too bad he doesn’t want to start his early retirement in Florida or something, though…

But Bill Guerin cannot reclaim any of the cap space that’s already been set aside for Parise and Suter’s old contracts. If the Wild general manager wants to make any moves this offseason, he will have to turn a blind eye to what is already done and, instead, look at players on the active roster who can be bought out or traded to create more space.

For the purposes of this blog, we are going to assume these players can be traded without the Wild retaining salary. In reality, there’s no point in Guerin making cap-clearing deals if he has to pay a bunch of outgoing salary to get them done.

Alex Goligoski (D) – 1 Year ($2 million)

Trading Alex Goligoski seems like the only no-brainer on this list. He was scratched more often last season, than he was active. While it’s nice to have an able veteran available in the press box, the Wild cannot afford such luxuries.

Guerin needs to move on from Goligoski. Save $2 million against the cap and let Alex finish his career on a roster where he’s active for every game. It sounds like there was some interest in Goligoski at the 2022-23 trade deadline. I’d imagine there would be even more in the offseason, when teams have fluctuating and incomplete rosters.

Bill Guerin said there was a team that showed interest in Alex Goligoski, but it didn't get far enough down the road where they would have asked him to waive his no-move. #mnwild.

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 3, 2023

Mats Zuccarello (RW) – 1 Year ($6 million)

Like I said, finding more cap space gets a lot more difficult after Alex Goligoski. The biggest savings Guerin could find, on a realistic level, is Mats Zuccarello, who is going into the last year of his deal. Trading Zuccy would save up to $6 million against the cap for someone who was nearly useless when Kirill Kaprizov was injured and out of the lineup toward the end of last season.

Up until then, Zuccarello seemed like an integral part of what the Wild did offensively. He and Kirill have a type of on-ice chemistry that would be hard to duplicate. But Mats was so bad in Kaprizov’s absence, that you wonder if Kirill’s genius is the only thing keeping his hockey above par?

Is it possible that Kaprizov would be even better with someone more talented on his opposite wing? There are no indications that the Wild want to move on from Zuccarello. But if they can find a team willing to take on his entire 2023-24 salary, Guerin might be able to find a better way to spend that $6 million. Mats has a 10-team no move clause on his deal so he has some control over where the Wild would be able to trade him.

Marcus Foligno (RW) – 1 Year (3.1 million)

Just a couple of seasons ago, the Minnesota Wild’s best line had Marcus Foligno on it. He was 1/3 of the GREEF line, which had Jordan Greenway on the opposite wing and Joel Eriksson Ek at center. They were productive offensively and opponents NEVER scored while those three were on the ice.

But that all changed last season. Ek was needed on other lines and Greenway struggled mightily, before being traded at the deadline. Foligno wasn’t very good either, posting one of the most unproductive seasons in his career.

Then, in the playoffs, Foligno’s physicality became a detriment to the Wild’s ability to win. Whether fair or not, he was repeatedly called for penalties throughout the series, and got tossed out of game 5 for a questionable “kneeing” call.

It changed the ENTIRE complexion of the game.

So the @NHL_On_TNT crew broke down the Marcus Foligno kneeing major from every angle ????️‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/QKksAJk2EO

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 26, 2023

Whether you side with Foligno or the refs during that series, there’s no denying the negative impact he had had. As a team leader. moving on from Foligno would be risky and could hurt the locker room. But… for $3.1 million Guerin, again, must ask himself if that money would be better spent elsewhere.

Marc-Andre Fleury (G) – 1 Year ($3.5 million)

If there is any move that might seem obvious on this list, beyond trading Goligoski, it’s moving on from Marc-Andre Fleury. It’s clear that Filip Gustavsson is the Wild’s #1 goaltender, if they are able to re-sign him this summer.

And if they do, then backup Fleury falls into the same category as press box Goligoski. A luxury, not a necessity. Having one of the best backups in the league is nice, but the Wild are poor and can probably spend some of that $3.5 million on a player who will be on the ice regularly.

Fleury and Guerin are buddies, however. And Fleury has already announced that he’s fine with taking on a backup role, behind Gustavsson. Would Guerin take salary cap space over keeping his buddy, “Flower”, in the locker room?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Ryan Suter is trying to hurt Kirill Kaprizov.

But it became apparent as the game went on that former Wild defenseman, Ryan Suter, was on a mission to take out superstar Kirill Kaprizov one dirty crosscheck at a time. Two that were caught on video. Neither were called as penalties.

Suter's done this a couple of times already, particularly to Kaprizov, who's now labouring on the Minnesota bench. Probably not in the league's best interests to have their star players getting taken out on night 1. pic.twitter.com/WX6656ctR7

— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) April 18, 2023

If you’re behind the times and came into this blog believing Ryan Suter was a modest midwestern dude who’s liked by teammates and respected by opponents then it’s time to face reality. Nobody likes or respects this guy.

Terrible teammate

He was an asshole while in Minnesota, who used his relationship with Wild owner Craig Leipold to hold teammates and coaches hostage. We found out after he left that he had been causing problems in the Wild locker room for years.

And shocker, it was revealed later that Suter was an unpopular figure in Nashville, where he was drafted out of college (at Wisconsin haha) and played for seven years before being signed by the Wild. Former defensive partner, Jason Arnott, talked about how Suter was constantly complaining about not getting what he thought he deserved while with the Predators.

“The attitude of Suts was night and day to Webs. All he would do is complain about, ‘how come he’s not on the power play’, ‘he doesn’t play enough’, ‘I can’t believe this guy is making this much money’. Webs, he was night and day. He wanted to learn and was super respectful and played hard. Two different dynamic of mentality of players.”

Jason Arnott – Cam and Strick Podcast

Time to take out the trash

Again, nobody likes Ryan Suter. That’s why there will be a lot of smiling faces across the league on Wednesday night (game 2) when Suter has to atone for his dirty crosschecking ways in game 1.

Whether it’s Ryan Reaves, Marcus Foligno or both, I expect Suter will be confronted immediately after puck drop, before he’s able to find Kaprizov again. According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), Wild players were ready to take out the trash in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, while celebrating their victory in the locker room.

Gaudreau, playing hurt, looked bothered at times. Middleton, who was outstanding, hobbled to the bench on one occasion. Same with Johansson and Kaprizov, who ate a couple vicious cross-checks from Ryan Suter, who is not a popular fixture at all inside his old locker room. Wild players were ripping the longtime former Wild defenseman to shreds in the celebratory postgame locker room.

Michael Russo – The Athletic

We all know how small and fragile Ryan Suter really is. If he is smart, he will call in sick or fake an injury before Wednesday’s game. Hopefully not, though. Because I’d love to see his teeth laying on the ice.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

But as it turns out, Ryan Suter’s childish and vindictive off-ice personality isn’t something that suddenly sprouted up during his time with the Minnesota Wild. Remember, Suter started his NHL career with the Nashville Predators and played there for 7 seasons. He signed with the Wild as a free agent in July of 2012.

Jason Arnott Not a Fan of Ryan Suter

In a recent interview on the “Cam and Strick” podcast, former Predators teammate (2006-10), Jason Arnott, gave his thoughts on a young, whiny, Ryan Suter.

Jason Arnott had this to say about former teammate Ryan Suter #Preds #mnwild #GoStars ⁦@CamandStrick⁩ pic.twitter.com/tYOrodpmNV

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) May 10, 2022

“The attitude of Suts was night and day to Webs. All he would do is complain about, ‘how come he’s not on the power play’, ‘he doesn’t play enough’, ‘I can’t believe this guy is making this much money’. Webs, he was night and day. He wanted to learn and was super respectful and played hard. Two different dynamic of mentality of players.

I heard he was a huge distraction in that dressing room. Knowing Billy Guerin, he’s not putting up with that and he’s cleaning house. Now look at them. He’s built a phenomenal team and doesn’t have all that money money and distractions.”

Jason Arnott – Cam and Strick Podcast

Jason Arnott played 18 seasons in the NHL and spent his early 30’s with the Nashville Predators, where he played with two of the best young defensemen in hockey, at the time. ‘Webs’ is Shea Weber who Arnott references during the clip above. Weber is now a 4-time All-Star and has been one of the better defensemen in the league for over a decade.

But from 2006-2010, Shea Weber was barely drinking age (21-24). Back then, Arnott wore the “C” in Nashville. When he left, following the 2009-2010 season, captaincy was passed to Weber. Suter, who was the exact same age as Weber and had played more NHL games up to that point, was relegated to wearing an “A.

Some Things Never Change

New Minnesota Wild general manager, Bill Guerin, dealt with Ryan Suter for one season before giving up on the situation. To everyone’s surprise, he bought Suter out last offseason, along with Zach Parise. Guerin chose an average of $7 million in dead cap each season through 2024, over retaining a top-4 defenseman with a wealth of hockey experience and knowledge. If that doesn’t show how untenable the the locker room dynamic was, then read more about the divorce HERE.

What still blows my mind is how long it took for the public to find out who the real Ryan Suter was. Arnott played with Suter 15 years ago and knew he was an asshole. Yet, Suter was hailed as a great teammate and positive locker room presence when he was acquired and through almost all of his tenure in St. Paul.

It just goes to show how much pull Ryan Suter had while here. Whether it was owner, Craig Leipold, GM Chuck Fletcher or one of many Minnesota Wild media members; nobody wanted to out Ryan Suter’s locker room transgressions to the public. Maybe if they had, his stay wouldn’t have lasted as long as it did.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

But Billy knew the Wild had to confront a problem that nobody else in the organization would even admit existed. That problem was Ryan Suter, who still believed Craig Leopold and the locker room belonged to him. If the voices of both Zach Parise or Ryan Suter weren’t removed from the locker room all together, the Wild were never going to evolve to their next stage of playoff enlightenment. So Guerin got Leopold to sign off on the move and then actually had the balls to pull the trigger on Suter’s buyout, which put the former USA defensemen into a rampage of shock.

Told Ryan Suter was completely blindsided by today’s news. Was not expecting a buyout from #Mnwild

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) July 13, 2021

Now, just 23 games into their first season in nearly a decade without the former organizational saviors, and Bill Guerin already appears to be vindicated by his bold buyout move. The Minnesota Wild are on a 5-game winning streak (their longest of the season), and sit high atop the Central Division with 33 points, which is also tied for 1st place in the Western Conference.

Guerin’s Midas Touch

All of the offseason moves made by Bill Guerin this past offseason have turned to gold. Ryan Hartman, who just signed a 3-year deal for less than $2 million against the salary cap per season, is on pace to score nearly 50 goals. Kaprizov is scoring points at a top-5 pace, after his unprecedented contract extension. And even signings that were frowned upon at the time, like that of Rem Pitlick’s, have paid off ten-fold.

Ryan Hartman: 13 goals, 21 points, +22 in 23 games

$1.7 million bargain

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 3, 2021

Lowest Goals Scored Above Expected – November 27 pic.twitter.com/Q4UglLpvd2

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 27, 2021

The only Wild player who could be seen as underperforming is Kevin Fiala, who often looks like the best player on the ice but just can’t put goals home. Fiala’s inconsistency is something Guerin was ready for, though, because he refused to sign the sharpshooter to anything more than a one-year deal and even took him to arbitration to make it happen.

Now, Fiala is top trade piece should the Wild need to boost their lineup before the deadline. Given how many things have worked out in Bill Guerin’s favor since being hired by the Minnesota Wild two+ years ago, I’ll trust whatever decision he makes on Kevin Fiala’s future.

Sure, Guerin looks good but how are Zach Parise and Ryan Suter doing with their new teams? I’m glad you asked. Let’s start with Zach.

Zach Parise – New York Islanders

There was a time when #11 was the only Wild jersey worth selling in the state of Minnesota. Zach Parise played for a cup in New Jersey early in his career. That’s what fans expected him to play for here too, especially after the deal he signed. But even as his numbers started to drop and the injuries piled up, Zach continued to see himself as that all-star leader of team USA hockey.

So after a season where he felt constantly disrespected by Wild management, Parise was bought out and signed with the New York Islanders for his revenge tour. Unfortunately, Islander fans have quickly found out what Wild fans have known for awhile.

Zach Parise still tries really hard but the man just can’t score anymore. Through 18 games played, Parise has exactly ZERO goals and THREE assists on the season. He’s averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per night.

As for Zach Parise, the effort is clearly there, but the hands are not. He has had scoring chances throughout the season but hasn’t been able to convert. In a normal year, when the Islanders are at full strength, this would be frustrating but not a major concern; Parise wasn’t brought in to be a top-flight scorer like he’s been in the past. But now, when the Isles’ top goal-scorer is out and the homegrown regulars have gone dry, it’s maddening to see Parise misfire so often. He’s not coming out of the lineup — who do they even have that would replace him at this point? — but you’d obviously like to see him break through.

The Athletic – Arthur Staple

Zach Parise might be the unluckiest player in the NHL #isles

— Eyes on Isles (@eyesonislesFS) December 3, 2021

Ryan Suter – Dallas Stars

We cannot mention Ryan Suter’s game in the same breath as Zach Parise’s. Suter is still a solid and productive NHL player whose new Central Division team, the Dallas Stars, rely on him greatly. Ryan still logs over 22 minutes of ice time each night, good for 3rd-highest on his playoff-caliber team. On the season, he has a solid 3 goals and 14 assists (+/- 0).

But Suter’s replacement in Minnesota, Alex Goligoski, has been even better. In just under 20 minutes per night, Alex has 2 goals and 14 assists of his own (+12). And the Dallas Stars currently sit seven points behind the Wild in the Central Division standings.

Emboldened Evason, New Leaders

The Stars are probably a better team with Ryan Suter but Minnesota is the envy of this division, in large part because they bought Suter and Parise out last offseason. Removing those two from the locker room has allowed Dean Evason to take full control of the lines and roster. Other players like Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon, Matz Zuccarrello and Marcus Foligno have, in turn, been able to take over as the new team leaders.

The alignment between those new leaders and the second-year head coach is a major part of what has pushed this team to new heights, as Michael Russo (The Athletic) wrote on Friday morning. Here is just one of many examples Russo used to show the newfound trust between Evason and his new locker room leaders.

Captain Jared Spurgeon is and was hurt. So Tuesday night, after that first period, Evason called over alternate captain Marcus Foligno. He whispered in Foligno’s ear that the coaches wouldn’t be coming into the room when they normally do, with five minutes left in most intermissions, to address the team.

Instead, it was up to Foligno to “catch it,” which is Evason’s coachspeak for “fix it.” Foligno and some other leaders spoke up, and the Wild erupted for another home-ice win.

Michael Russo – The Athletic

Cap penalties will get worse.

It’s true that the cap penalties for buying Zach Parise and Ryan Suter out will get much worse in coming years. They’ll eventually get much easier and then fall off the books completely. But 2021-22 will be the easiest season to stomach, cap-wise, until 2025.

#MNWild cap penalties for buying out Parise + Suter

21/22: $4,743,588
22/23: $12,743,588
23/24: $14,743,588
24/25: $14,743,588
25/26: $1,666,666
26/27: $1,666,666
27/28: $1,666,666
28/29: $1,666,666

Per Capfriendly

— Stephen Strom (@SStrom_) July 13, 2021

The buyouts will cost Minnesota $12-15 million against the cap in each of the next three seasons. Those penalties are the main reason why Guerin can’t sign Kevin Fiala long-term even if he wants to. But even with the cap penalties hanging over this franchise’ head for the foreseeable future, it’s still already become clear that Bill Guerin made the right decision in buying out both Parise and Suter.

There’s no chance the Minnesota Wild are (mostly) drama-free and flying high atop the Western Conference if Guerin not had the balls to part with both former stars, turned locker room cancers.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

But nine years later, with no cups or deep playoff runs to show for the investment, Parise and Suter have been bought out by new general manager, Bill Guerin. Now that they’ve been dismissed, reality of their locker room “leadership” is coming to light.

Trouble in frozen paradise?

According to Judd Zulgad (SKOR North), who’s a credentialed media member with the Wild and longtime sports reporter in Minnesota, Suter was once called “uncoachable” during an altercation with a past head coach. Judd also claims that Ryan’s (too) close relationship with Craig Leipold has caused major tension throughout the organization.

Ryan Suter, the “de facto” #mnwild GM and “uncoachable” player? I feel a wave of these stories on the horizon. @jzulgad @SKORNorth pic.twitter.com/kMbzR1BNA3

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) July 15, 2021

While on the Mackey and Judd Show Friday (14:35 mark), insider Darren Wolfson pushed back a bit on what Judd said about Parise and Suter being locker room headaches, pointing to all of the teams lining up for Ryan Suter now that he’s an unrestricted free agent. Doogie did admit, however, that “maybe I’ve heard some of that buzz too”, regarding Suter being un-coachable..

Those two aren’t the only plugged in sports people in town pulling the curtain back on Suter and Parise’s negative impact on the Wild locker room. Long-time reporters and insiders across platforms are dropping nuggets of reality. Some are more discrete than others. Jim Souhan (Star Tribune), for example, released a scathing column a couple of days after the former franchise saviors were bought out. His discretion level was pretty low.

Here is some of what he wrote.

What happened with Parise and Suter is commonplace in professional team sports.

When they performed like stars, the Diva Duo was tolerated.

When they declined, they became competing migraine headaches.

We knew from the team’s handling of Parise last season that he might be out. The surprise is the departure of Suter. Even solid play, remarkable durability and kissing up to owner Craig Leipold couldn’t save him.

Let this be a lesson to all those ambitious young hockey players in Minnesota: Your career will last longer if you’re good in the room.

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

Former Wild coach Bruce Boudreau would roll his eyes and mutter when reporters relayed Parise’s latest complaint.

What Guerin did Tuesday was remove the two primary obstacles to locker room harmony. The players on your team don’t have to all love each other, but they can’t be worried about someone running to the owner to complain about playing time.

Jim Souhan – Star Tribune

Cap Hell > Locker Room Hell

Bill Guerin will pay Zach Parise and Ryan Suter a total of $15 million in cap space for both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, plus another $12+ million in 2022, to play somewhere else. That’s approximately 15-20% of the Minnesota Wild’s total cap just to make two dudes leave. Nobody said divorces were cheap but that’s desperation of another level.

The cap squeeze will make it difficult for the new Wild GM to fill out his roster, during those seasons, with anything but young and unproven talent. Unless something was seriously wrong off the ice, keeping Suter and Parise on roster, even if increasing in age and declining in skill, would have been the easy and much smarter play. But clearly, something was wrong.

Your favorite hockey reporters and insiders have relationships to protect. Clearly, Ryan and Zach still hold a lot of power in this area and, consequently, I don’t know how much more of these stories will leak out. The space might be safer when the two unrestricted free agents sign elsewhere. We’ll see what “intestinal fortitude” is shown at that point.

Either way, logic tells us the truth. Guerin chose massive cap penalties and unproven talent over Zach Parise and Ryan Suter infecting their locker room, going forward.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Parise’s frustrations were more up-front throughout the 2020-21 season because his playing time diminished as it went along. First, his role and minutes declined. Then, he was excluded from the power play before finally being scratched from the lineup altogether, including three playoff games.

So yesterday’s news was just the latest piece in a season-long drama between the Wild front office and Zach Parise. But the same thing cannot be said about Ryan Suter’s buyout. He was a top-4 defensive fixture for the Wild all season long and never came to heads with Guerin or Evason publicly.

Hung Up on

Apparently, nobody was as surprised as Suter, himself. Michael Russo (The Athletic) wrote in a column last night that said the 9-year Wild defenseman actually hung up on the 2-year general manager yesterday, when told by Guerin that he’d been bought out. What an amazing exchange this would have been to witness.

Parise, the all-time leading goal scorer among Minnesotans in NHL history, hung up and immediately called his longtime comrade in arms, Suter, to inform his 2012 free-agent tag-team partner and fellow nine-year alternate captain that the Wild were buying out the final four years of his contract.

Suter tried to lift Parise’s spirits. He even told him that funny enough he himself had a missed call from Guerin.

That’s when Guerin suddenly called again. The veteran defenseman answered and was blindsided with the exact same news that he, too, was being bought out of the final four years of his contract.

That call with Guerin wasn’t as lengthy … or as friendly.

Suter, never, ever envisioning that the Wild would actually buy out both contracts at the same time, hung up on the GM.

“These calls are not fun to make,” Guerin said a few hours later at a news conference. “In this position, the chair I’m sitting in, you have to do difficult things.”

Michael Russo – The Athletic

Reasoning?

As we discussed for quite a large portion of today’s ‘SS Minnesota’ (clip below), there seems to have been more bubbling below the surface between Ryan Suter and the Minnesota Wild brass, than what we’ve been led to believe. The move wasn’t based on his play. Suter was still a contributing member of this team and it’s unlikely they’re better off without him next season.

Guerin has made it very clear, however, that the time to “move on” is right now. Obviously, he wants a change in the leadership structure of the Minnesota locker room. Cutting Suter and Parise loose will allow guys like Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba and Joel Eriksson Ek to lead a new era of Wild hockey.

Buy in or get out…

At the end of the day, this moves feels like one based on Ryan Suter’s “buy-in” to Bill Guerin’s team construction plan. Was he rolling his eyes in meeting rooms? Did he push younger players to buy into the plan Billy was trying to sell? As a leader, he needed to.

Keeping your mouth shut and not openly speaking out against management doesn’t necessarily equate to buy-in. If Bill Guerin thought Ryan Suter was standing in the way of building his best version of the Minnesota Wild, then it was best to cut ties now. Letting things fester further would’ve become a detriment to the chemistry of this team going forward.

Without Suter around, media can’t write about a diminishing role within the team, should that have happened sometime in the next 4 years. He can’t stand in the way of a new leadership structure you’re trying to build in the locker room, either. And after what happened this season with Parise and the distraction it caused, even while both sides handled it rather professionally, Guerin may have just decided, “enough is enough”.

We’ll see if Bill Guerin’s big balls pay off. Either way, I’m expecting big seasons for both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. It’s the Minnesota way.

Ryan Suter hung up on Bill Guerin when told he was bought out and that's the drama ending we needed to this era. @SStrom_ #mnwild

????: https://t.co/7ei2HOgj3b
????: https://t.co/vBnHSBf2Ch
????: https://t.co/RNuHiujWIU pic.twitter.com/B8tHcFCOaW

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) July 14, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Bill Guerin continues to blow the minds of Minnesota Wild fans across the state of hockey and his latest tree-shaking move came on Tuesday around lunchtime, when he announced they were buying out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Both guys will hit free agency on July 28, available for anyone to sign.

The move frees up over $10 million in cap space for this season but the buyouts will make money tighter in the three years that follow.

NEWS: #mnwild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the club will buy out the final four years of the contracts of forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter.

More information » https://t.co/hd3D1naoA0 pic.twitter.com/04tHQ6T88p

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 13, 2021

–Because both have no-moves, they essentially will get emails from team to waive waivers and become free agents
–Wild decided rather than buying out 1, they'd buy out both for $10.33M in cap relief this year and $2.33M in cap relief next. $15+ cap charges in Years 3-4

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 13, 2021

Following a rocky 2020-21 season dealing with the new franchise handlers (Guerin and Evason), nobody knew what the offseason held for Zach Parise. A buyout, in his case, isn’t shocking. Something had to give, whether it was a trade or this.

Suter shocked like everyone else

The shock came in regards to Ryan Suter’s inclusion in the news because there hadn’t been any steam releasing out of that pot. Suter still played big minutes last season in the top-4 of Minnesota’s defensive pairings and there wasn’t any reported drama that he stirred up. Media members were among the most surprised when it happened.

But GM, Bill Guerin, got up in front of reporters a couple hours after the buyout announcement was made and explained himself. He blamed a culmination of factors that forced his hand into a very difficult decision. The factors include (but are not limited to) a lack of salary cap space this offseason, the looming expansion draft next week and a need to move on with their younger and cheaper talent.

You can listen to the entire press conference HERE via KFAN but I clipped a couple of the better moments below.

Here is Bill Guerin’s explanation on why he chose to buyout both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter today and how long he’s been mulling the decision. #mnwild (audio via @KFAN1003) pic.twitter.com/1BP8P6B7OO

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) July 13, 2021

Here are a few more good rapid fire Q&A’s from Bill Guerin’s presser today. #mnwild (audio via @KFAN1003) pic.twitter.com/SLu2i8KmFF

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) July 13, 2021

This is Bill’s team now.

Billy G isn’t afraid to do what’s necessary, even if the decision is going to be difficult. Guerin saw an opportunity here to move on from the old Minnesota Wild and completely embark on a clean-slated journey. But not only that, these buyouts allow the Wild to protect Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman, Nico Sturm and Matt Dumba (among others) in the expansion draft too.

With this move, younger guys like Calen Addison, Niko Sturm, Matt Boldy and a plethora of others could see opportunities for more playing time next season. Again, the time was right. But now, the time is right to get a centerman for Kirill Kaprizov so he signs on long term.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

While the NHL Playoffs rage on, the Minnesota Wild are gearing up for one of the most frantic off seasons in league history. Wild GM, Bill Guerin, has many questions that need to be answered on the roster, including what to do with the team’s two highest paid players. Both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter came to Minnesota with high expectations and haven’t been able to take the team to the next level.

Let’s assume Bill Guerin finds a way around the “Cap Recapture” penalty and unloads one or the other. Which player is more valuable to the Wild, going forward? Let’s compare!

Nine (9) total if you include Hossa and Zetterberg

Jeff Carter LAK / CBJ
Jonathan Quick LAK
Sidney Crosby PIT
Duncan Keith CHI
Marian Hossa ARI / CHI
Henrik Zetterberg DET
Zach Parise MIN
Ryan Suter MIN
Shea Weber MTL / NSH https://t.co/XTrAun60cM

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 12, 2020

DURABILITY

Durability was never an issue for Parise in New Jersey. He had only one season in which he failed to play at least 81 games. In fact, his first 5 seasons in the league Parise only missed THREE GAMES total, through his first FIVE SEASONS.

Since Parise has come back to Minnesota, however, he has only played two full seasons in eight years. Both of those seasons were shortened (2012-13 — Lockout | 2019-20 — Coronavirus). The closest Parise has come to playing a full 82-game slate, is 74 games, which he has done twice. Parise’s games played by season looks like this:

Suter on the other hand has been far more durable than Parise during his Wild tenure. That’s not to say Parise has missed a ton of games, outside of 2017-18, but Suter has never missed more than five games through an entire season, since signing with Minnesota.

Suter also plays a ton of minutes every night. His LOWEST average for “Time on Ice” in a season, was just under 25 minutes per game (2019-20). Every other season, Suter has racked up over 26 minutes of ice time per game. Here is Suter’s games by season breakdown:

As you can see, Suter takes the cake in durability. Not only does he play nearly every game, he also contributes heavy minute totals while he’s on the ice.

Advantage: Suter

PRODUCTION – PARISE

While Zach Parise hasn’t put together full seasons as Suter has in a Wild uniform, he has still been very productive. Since 2012-13, Parise is 10th among all Left Wingers in points with 382. He ranks third in Power Play Goals with 69, seventh in total goals with 190, 18th in assists with 192, eighth in average time on ice at 18:45, and 14th in average points per game with 0.74 per game.

Parise’s ranks among Wild forwards since 2012-13 is even more impressive. First in goals, third in assists, first in Power Play goals, and second in average time on ice per game. Parise’s goal pace through the shortened 69 game season would have translated to another 30 goal season too, showing he is still plenty productive in his mid 30’s.

PRODUCTION – SUTER

Since Suter came to Minnesota before the 2012-13 season, he has been a top 10 defenseman in the entire NHL in several categories. Suter is tenth in total points, first in average time on ice per game, 13th in power play points, and sixth in assists among ALL DEFENSEMAN during that span.

Among Wild defenseman, Suter is first in points, first in assists, third in power play goals, and first in time on ice per game during that time. Not only does he play all the time, he is also still very productive. Suter nearly eclipsed 50 points again this year, and likely would have had the season not been paused due to COVID-19.

Any production that Suter brings as a defenseman is a bonus for what he contributes defensively every game. Parise’s main expectation is that he will provide goals when he is out on the ice. Suter has been a solid contributor overall and has been part of the Wild’s top Power Play unit for several seasons. Sorry Zach but Suter takes this category too.

Advantage Suter.

OVERALL POSITION DEPTH

The Wild boast a very deep lineup of defensemen, and Suter is the anchor of that group. There aren’t many teams who can roll 4 lines deep on defense. But here the Wild sit with so many good options:

Now that 3rd line combination contains two impending free agents. If they are not retained this unit takes a depth hit, but the top 2 defense pairings are still very good. Remove Suter from that equation and it’s still a solid top 2 lines, but not on the same level as with Suter. And with the goalie situation in flux going into 2020-21, a solid defense is going to be imperative to help clean up in front of whoever is in net.

The offensive line combinations are a little more thin with the potential retirement of Mikko Koivu. But the Wild will welcome Kirill Kaprizov into the mix next season as well. Here is how the line combinations look assuming Koivu calls it quits:

Kaprizov will likely slot into either the second line (to start 2020). He could theoretically offset the loss of Zach Parise, but the team would be much better suited if they are able to 1-2 punch with Fiala and Kaprisov on back-to-back lines.

When it comes to team depth, losing Parise would be harder than losing Suter.

Advantage Parise.

WHO WINS?

It makes the most sense to stick with Ryan Suter, if we’re forced to keep one of these two. The Wild can look to free agency, to replace Parise’s production, and already have Kaprizov ready to come in and play immediately. Keep in mind, the Wild nearly traded Parise before the deadline last season.

Even if Bill Guerin can’t move either contract, we should expect plenty of moves this offseason, as he shapes this roster to his liking. With (potentially) only 2 months between the end of the Stanley Cup Finals and the start of the 2020-21 season, Guerin is going to have to act fast when the offseason phones start ringing…

Seth Toupal | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Wild won again tonight… or last night… or whatever. It’s dark out but the clock says “AM”. The Wild are in San Jose to start a road trip against below-average competition. We are hoping the trip will yield W’s and not the corona virus. So far, so good…

They defeated the Sharks out in San Jose, despite health officials recommending the game be cancelled until the corona virus is under control.

The game itself, was mostly Wild early. It got pretty hairy late but the Wild were able to hold on.

Now, they will reap the benefits…. which include jumping two teams in the Western Conference playoff standings, and planting themselves as the #1 wildcard for that side of the playoff bracket.

That’s a far cry from the tank I was calling for a month or two ago. If the season ended this morning, not only would the Wild make the playoffs, but they’d avoid a first round bye vs St. Louis….

The Wild still have to win double the games they lose, if they are going to end up in the final bracket, come season’s end. However, if Kevin Fiala continues to look like a future NHL superstar and Parise can continue to pile up points, who knows what could happen.

Seriously, if you haven’t sat down and watched a Wild game in awhile, it’s time to change that. Kevin Fiala just looks to be operating on a different level than everyone else and even my stupid hockey eyes can see it.

His play over the last month or so, makes me feel a lot better about (and a little worse for) Paul Fenton.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan