from Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune,
Parise and Suter were the top free agents in an offseason that contained few stars. There were headlines on the pursuit of Parise, son of J.P., a North Stars legend, then head of the Shattuck Academy hockey program in Faribault. Suter seemed destined to stay in Nashville.
And then, on July 4, always Minnesota's favorite holiday, even on a Wednesday as it was this time … laziness, friends, family, shooing flies from the potato salad, maybe a ballgame on the radio with that new guy, Cory Provus, joining Dan Gladden.
It wasn't a day for ice-shattering sports news, but then came the reports before noon: The Wild had reached deals with Suter and Parise for the same money ($98 million) and length (13 years).
Minnesota went nuts. Even Ron Gardenhire and Joe Mauer were celebrating with the Twins in Detroit. They had done videos at the behest of the Wild, telling Suter and Parise they would "look great in green."
Revised history has it that the 13-year contracts were a burden. Actually, the length was a benefit to the Wild to spread out the dollars.
Revised history also says the Parise/Suter signings were a failure because the promise of a Stanley Cup run was never met. There was no such promise. The signings were done to compete again and prevent echoes in the X.
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