Wild buy out longtime franchise stalwarts Zach Parise, Ryan Suter
Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have been staples in the Minnesota Wild lineup since 2012. That will no longer be the case.
The Wild announced Tuesday that they are buying out the remaining four years on Parise's and Suter's contracts.
"Zach and Ryan have been an integral part of the Wild's success over the past nine years and we'll always be grateful for their many contributions," general manager Bill Guerin said in a statement. "There were numerous factors that entered into the difficult decision to buy out their contracts, but primarily these moves are a continuation of the transformation of our roster aimed at the eventual goal of winning a Stanley Cup."
Team owner Craig Leipold added:
"I want to thank Zach and Ryan for everything they did for our organization over the past nine seasons, both on and off the ice. They were tremendous ambassadors for our team and helped us win a lot of games. I wish them nothing but the best going forward."
According to The Athletic's Michael Russo, Minnesota will be charged the following in the years ahead:
The Wild will pay each $6.7 million over the next eight years and be charged with $2.371 million, $6.371 million and $7.371 million cap hits in the next four years, respectively, for each, then $833,333 cap hits the four years after that for each.
The duo arrived in St. Paul before the 2012-13 campaign after both signed 13-year deals. Their arrival started a run of six straight playoff appearances, though the Wild were never able to make it out of the second round.
Buying out Parise and Suter gives Minnesota an additional $10.33 million in cap space this summer, which will likely be used to re-sign Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala, among other potential free-agent signings. It also allows the Wild to protect players such as Jordan Greenway and Mathew Dumba in the upcoming expansion draft.
In his nine seasons with the Wild, Parise tallied 400 points (199 goals, 201 assists) in 558 games. Suter, meanwhile, notched 369 points (55 goals, 314 assists) in 656 games.
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