Wild to buy out both Parise and Suter

This just in from Minnesota Wild insider Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Wild are buying out the enormous contracts of veterans Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

From Russo:

According to sources, Wild general manager Bill Guerin called both Parise and Suter to inform each of them that the team is buying out the remaining four years of each of their contracts.

They will each be put on waivers today at 11 a.m. CT and can become free agents.

And now the Wild have officially confirmed the rumor:

The Wild will pay both Parise and Suter $6.7 million over the course of the next eight years and will be hit with $2.37 million, $6.37 million and $7.37 million cap hits over the next four seasons and then a cap hit just north of $800,000 for the final four seasons of the buyout. If that sounds pricey it certainly is, but it's actually a prudent financial decision that frees up $10.33 million for Wild GM Bill Guerin this offseason. But, they'll be crippled with nearly $15 million in dead cap space in three years' time. Ouch.

As for Parise and Suter, they'll hit the open market this offseason as free agents. The last time the pair were free agents was the 2012 offseason when they ended up signing matching 13 year contracts worth a whopping $98 million each. The pair nearly made it 10 years into the 13 year deals and have each collected $82 million of the $98 million committed to them already.

The 36 year old Parise will likely be in tough to find a top-six role in the NHL via free agency. He put up just seven goals and 18 points in 45 games with the Wild this past season and was a healthy scratch on several occasions. While he still has the offensive instincts and strong defensive play that has made him such a valuable player over the course of his NHL career, he simply doesn't have the explosiveness or the speed he had in his younger days. But hey... who among us does?

Suter's production took a total nosedive this season, dropping from 48 points in 69 games in 2019-20 to just 19 points in 56 games in 2021-22. He's still a rugged, defensive blueliner capable of making pinpoint breakout passes, but his offensive production is likely to decline even further if he elects to continue his NHL career.