Zach Parise Signs With Minnesota

The Minnesota Wild hit the free agent jackpot by landing the two top players on the market.

Minnesota has signed former Devils Captain & forward Zach Parise  and All-Star defenseman Ryan Suter  to 13-year deals worth $98 million each.

Parise leaves the New Jersey Devils after seven seasons, while Suter leaves Nashville where he spent his entire seven-year NHL career.

Parise is a Minnesota native who has 194 goals and 216 assists in 503 career games, scoring 30-plus goals five times.

Suter had career highs in points last year, with 7 goals and 39 assists.

Suter and Parise, who played together on the 2010 US Olympic hockey team, co-ordinated their signing with Minnesota according to USA Today. “Ryan and I had talked throughout the year,” Parise said. “We would always say, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a chance to play with each other?’ Was it realistic all of the time? I don’t know.”

Suter did not want to play for an Eastern Conference team, leaving Detroit and Pittsburgh as viable options before Minnesota stepped up.

“It was very hard to leave,” Parise told USA Today. “But at the end of the day, I thought I would like to play at home. The conversation with (GM Lou Lamoriello) went very well. He was very supportive. We were both up front and honest with each throughout the whole process.”

Parise said he talked often with Lamoriello during the process.

“I put (the Parise departure) right with Scott (Niedermayer)” Lamoriello said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story