There certainly were fireworks on the Fourth of July, but the ones for Red Wings fans seemed taunting rather than celebratory as two major pieces of the free-agent puzzle went another way.
One day after Wings owner Mike Ilitch, general manager Ken Holland and advisor to hockey operations Chris Chelios flew to Madison, Wis., to meet with free-agent defenseman Ryan Suter and his agent, Neil Sheehy, Suter signed a 13-year contract with the Minnesota Wild, according to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Shortly thereafter, Russo reported that the Wild signed free-agent forward Zach Parise, also to a 13-year deal.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada, both players get 13 years and $98 million.
According to various reports, the Wings' offer was 13 years and $90 million, the same offer the Predators reportedly made to Suter in an attempt to keep him.
Wild owner Craig Leipold, general manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo also had a face-to-face meeting with Suter and his agent in Wisconsin Tuesday, according to Russo.
The two 27-year-olds are known to be friends and had played together for Team USA, including during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Suter has spent his entire career with the Nashville Predators, and Parise has been with the New Jersey Devils since entering the league.
Suter's wife, Becky, is from Bloomington, Minn. Parise was born in Minneapolis. His father, J.P., played and served as an assistant coach for the North Stars. So both players had strong ties to Minnesota.
It started to become clear Tuesday night that the two were a package deal.
Speaking to host Josh Rimer on nextsportstar.com, Parise said he and Suter had been in contact throughout the process of talking to teams.
"Ryan's a great player," Parise said to Rimer. "He's a top defenseman in this league. Those type of players don't come around often. They're tough to find. I'd love to play on a team with a defenseman like Ryan Suter."
Russo reported late Tuesday night that if the Wild got one of those two players, they were going to get both. He turned out to be correct.
With the retirement of captain Nick Lidstrom and the departure of Brad Stuart to the San Jose Sharks to be with his family, the Wings now have to find a way to replace two of their top defensemen.
While others enjoy the July 4th holiday, Holland and his team will be hard at work figuring out how to keep the Wings 21-year playoff streak alive.
Meanwhile, the Wild, who have not made the playoffs the last four years, clearly expect to do so now with Suter and Parise on board.
