Free agents Suter and Parise choose Wild
Ryan Suter and Zach Parise said ‘no’ to the Flyers and ‘yes’ to the Minnesota Wild.
The Nashville Predators' imposing defenseman and Devils' forward turned down outrageous offers to play elsewhere.
The Wild have agreed to a 13-year contracts with Suter and Parise.
The
Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported the Suter deal and
ESPN's Pierre Lebrun reported the Parise deal. Lebrun also reports that both contracts are for $98 million over 13 years.
The Flyers' offers were turned down by both big-name free agents, but the good news for the Flyers is that both are in the Western Conference.
Parise was the most coveted free agent forward of the summer, eliciting a number of offers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Flyers, sources said, had the most outrageous offer out there for Parise. They offered him and Suter contracts for 12 years and in excess of $100 million each.
A source said the Flyers offer for Parise was far better than others, making the decision that much harder for Parise and led to the delay in making an announcement.
In the end, much like Jordan Staal’s decision to turn down the Penguins’ long-term offer of $60 million, it wasn’t about money, but other things.
Staal wanted to play with his brother in Carolina and got his wish. Parise, who would have fortified an already imposing forward group with the Flyers, got his wish, as well.
While the Flyers need some scoring depth given the departure of James van Riemsdyk and Jaromir Jagr's joining Dallas, the loss of Parise allows significant salary cap money to sign other players.
Whether the Flyers jump back into the fray to swing a trade with Columbus for Rick Nash or with Anaheim for Bobby Ryan – both of whom the club has had interest in - remains to be seen.
Back in June, sources said that Suter had no interest in playing in the Eastern Conference. That didn’t deter Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, nor did it deter the Pittsburgh Penguins, where GM Ray Shero had been the assistant GM in Nashville responsible for drafting Suter in the first place.
There is one drastic option still available to the Flyers. Holmgren could submit a Group II offer sheet to Nashville’s Shea Weber, who is a restricted free agent this summer but becomes unrestricted next summer.
If not that route, then the Flyers need to intensify their actions to re-sign Matt Carle or find a suitable replacement elsewhere via free agency or trade.
Carle’s stock value likely just went up nearly $1 million with Suter off the market. He’ll get at least $5.50 million to sign as a free agent.
Heading into today, other possible free agent defensemen who could be had for less money than Carle and still help the Flyers were Chris Campoli (Montreal) and Carlo Colaiacovo (St. Louis).
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
