St. Paul, MN

The Minnesota Wild have landed two of the biggest free agents in the market, signing forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter to 13-year deals worth $98 million.

"This is a great day in the history of the Minnesota Wild. We are extremely excited to add the collective skill, experience and character of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to an already promising roster," general manager Chuck Fletcher said in a statement released by the team.

"We view this as a rare opportunity for us to transform our franchise by adding two marquee players, who are both in the prime of their careers," he added.

Suter is the first free-agent defenseman to agree to terms with Minnesota this summer and, along with Parise, will join free agent signings Jake Dowell, Zenon Konopka, and Torrey Mitchell as new faces in the Wild lineup.

Considered as the best forward on the market, Parise had 31 goals and had 69 points last season in his first year as the New Jersey Devils' captain. He also chipped in 15 points in the team's surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals, which ended in a six-game series loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Drafted 17th overall by New Jersey in 2003, the 27-year-old is from Minnesota and has 194 goals and 216 assists in 503 career games. He scored 30-plus goals five times.

An All-Star defenseman, Suter spent all seven of his seasons in the NHL with the Nashville Predators after being selected with the seventh pick in the 2003 draft.

In 542 career games in Nashville, Suter has racked up 238 points (38 goals and 200 assists) and owns a plus-43 rating. He has piled up more than 30 points in each of his last five seasons. He had career highs in points last year, with seven goals and 39 assists.

Along with contributing in the offensive end, the blueliner is also a workhorse. He averaged 26:30 of ice time per game, ranking third in the NHL.

Predators GM David Polie made a 13-year offer for $90 million to keep Suter in Nashville but never got the chance to match the Wild's offer.

Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher on signing Parise and Suter

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