Parise, Suter to Minn.; Flyers go to Plan B
The Flyers made huge offers, but in the end, they fell on deaf ears.
Parise, Suter to Minn.; Flyers go to Plan B
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers made huge offers, but in the end, they fell on deaf ears.
Defenseman Ryan Suter and left winger Zach Parise, the prizes in this year's free-agent pool, signed with the Minnesota Wild, a team that hasn't made the playoffs during the last four seasons.
Parise, a Minnesota native,and Suter each received 13-year deals for $98 million. That's an annual cap hit of $7.54 million, which is seventh in the NHL.
The Flyers are believed to have offered each player a 12-year contract in the $100 million neighborhood.
At 11 a.m., the Flyers had not heard from the Suter or Parise camps on Wednesday _ and that seemed like a negative sign.
On Twitter, some Flyers fans said it would be fitting for the duo to make the announcement that they were coming to America's birthplace _ Philadelphia _ on the Fourth of July.
Ah, dream on.
Suter and Parise are close friends and they conferred with each other during the free-agency period, fueling speculation they would be a package deal.
The speculation turned into reality.
They will try to help the Wild win their first playoff series since 2003.
The Flyers will turn their attention to trying to sign UFA defenseman Matt Carle. If he is commanding $5.5 million per year, the Flyers should pass.
Carle is talented and would help the Flyers, but in the long run, a multi-year deal with that kind of financial commitment might hamstring the club in the future.
Free-agent winger Shane Doan interests the Flyers, but he will stay in Phoenix if the franchise doesn't move. He said he will decide by July 9; by that time it should be known if the Coyotes are remaining in Phoenix.
The Flyers will try to deal for either Anaheim's Bobby Ryan ($5.1 million cap hit for next three years) or Columbus' Rick Nash ($7.8 million cap hit for next six years), a pair of high-scoring forwards who would give them some much-needed size on the wings.
(more coming)
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
Sam, neither is worth the cap hit.
— eglftbl1- This comment has been deleted.— mrjetsondc420
- Because, Borat, the FLyers organization is the 2nd winningest in NHL history second only to the Montreal Canadiens. It is a pure hockey town with knowledable fans and the intense scrutiny that goes along with that. An playerthat avoids Philly because of the spotlight I wouldn't want here anyway so its just as well.
Get a new pic cheesedic— jfq722 - I never thought those two would come to Philly, I'm just relieved that they didn't sign with the Pens.
P.S. Tiny Tommy is at it again, using his 14 Philly.com IDs to badmouth the Flyers and Eagles:
The-General = Big Tom threw 3!, = BigTomRules = SUPREME ONE = FLYERS LOSERS = Bangyourw6 = Chuckys fiancée = Dustin Bufflin = STEPHEN1988 = Joe Banner - Eagles President = PastisPrologue = AngryChair = thing fish = mrjetsondc420
Comment removed.- Every one hates car dealers: They rip people off with super high list prices, them scam them again by underpaying for their trade in, rip them off a third time with overpriced financing, then a 4th shaft job with unneeded extended warranties.
- I think this is an excellent analogy, but not for the same reason. People hate buying cars because they don't know what they want, how much they want to spend, how much they can spend, have poor credit, or the value of the car they're buying - or all of the above. If Homer knows what it is his club needs, knows his club's short- and long-term financial prospects, doesn't spend all his available cap space, and can measure the value of the players he's seeking, the process becomes much less like stumbling around in the dark and much more like part of a master plan. I hope he knows all these things when he goes into the showroom.
(I hate buying cars, too.)— sklandog - 2nd winningest NHL franchise with nothing to show its fans since 1975...thats 37 years and counting. The Flyers are becoming the old BoSox of the NHL. Lots of winning seasons, some teases in the playoffs, but nothing to show for it. The goalie carousel since Pele Lindburgh has been a disgrace. The fire sale of Carter, Richards, and Gagne sure didn't hurt the Kings this year. Bobrosky was a good young goalie with plenty of upside, but instead, we are stuck with the headcase of Bryzgolov. Jagr "had one of the most enjoyable" seasons ever, then bolts. Free agents know the score card in Philly....good enough for the playoffs, show some signs of life (Pittburgh beat down), the go out like a house of cards. Love the Flyers, but come on now, 2nd winningest franchise? I'd take the Detroit Red Wings record (and Cups) over the Flyers "regular season" win percentage. — drhoffman
- You sir, are a born @$$h0le. Did your mother drop you on the head too many times as an infant or did you get a degree in @$$h0ololgy from @$$h@t University?
- Failing to win the cup? Sure. But think about how many teams fail to make the playoffs year after year. As jfq722 says below, the Flyers are the 2nd winningest franchise in NHL history. They're actually #1 since the expansion (and is it really that big a deal that Montreal won the cup a bunch of times when there were only 5 other teams in the league?). The Flyers can be relied on to make the playoffs year after year. Year after year they are contenders for the ultimate prize. In a way this makes it more painful when they fall short, but I wouldn't trade that for a team that wins the cup every 8 years but sucks every year in between. — metapede
- Its the same thing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.....But at least Philly can draft players.......and don't mind offering the big contracts. — shmoo
- I get a kick out of people like you who neglect to mention which team you're a fan of (if you even have a team) and offer ridiculous and fictional comments like the one you posted. Listen up chump: there are 30 NHL teams and only one survivor at season's end, meaning 29 non-survivors. Therefore the odds of the Flyers being that one team are one in thirty. Next time put a little thought into your post or simply watch, read and learn. — oaky7
- We could unload salary to fit both in.— matthew76
