Yesterday, the biggest news of the NHL was the Minnesota Wild buying out the contracts of defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Zach Parise.
Now, if you’ve been following the NHL for the last 10-15 years then you know these two guys were two of the biggest names during the 2012 free agency period. Multiple teams had made huge offers in hopes to sign one if not both guys. Obviously, they both ended up signing the same deal with the Minnesota Wild. One of the teams that were very much in the mix for them back in 2012 was the Philadelphia Flyers.
Now, nine years later could the Flyers once again be in the mix for one of these guys?
When it comes to Zach Parise, I don’t really see a fit for him on this Flyers team so I don’t see Fletcher making a push for him. Ryan Suter on the other hand, that’s a guy that at the right price could come in and help the Flyers defense. The Flyers need help on the backend and that needs to be their top priority during this off-season. It was clear last year that they lacked the veteran leadership that they had from Matt Niskanen the season before.
Look I’m smart enough to know that one guy retiring is not the reason the Flyers struggled as much as they did last year. However, it was one of the main factors and Fletcher did nothing to address Nisky leaving last year and it cost the Flyers. Ryan Suter is 36 years old and yeah he may not be the great player he used to be, but the guy can still play. He still puts up decent numbers and he isn’t a major liability on defense. In my opinion, he shouldn’t be the Flyers top target but of they could bring him in on a decent contract then I’d have no problem with it.
What do you think Flyers fans? Would you want to see Ryan Suter in orange and black?
-Walsh