As per a few sources, the Dallas Stars might be the team leading the charge for defenseman Ryan Suter and it is believed a deal could be worked out between the two sides before Wednesday’s NHL free agency period opens up. Suter was bought out by the Minnesota Wild recently and while he’s going to be making big bucks as part of that buy out, it is still believed he’ll do well on another contract.
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Michael Russo of The Athletic writes: “Ryan Suter still mulling over multiple opportunities and is expected to make decision on his next team by early Wednesday morning.” He adds, “He’s got multiple multi-year options; 4 years seems likely. Believed Dallas, FLA, others, still in the mix.” The Colorado Avalanche were rumored at one point to be interested, but Suter would have had to sign a low-cost deal. The New York Islanders were also apparently kicking tires. Andy Strickland wrote, “Hearing Blues are out on Dman Ryan Suter. There was very strong mutual interest but St. Louis couldn’t meet the term. Don’t be surprised if Suter signs for as many as four years.”
We’ve heard that the Montreal Canadiens might be interested but there’s not a lot of hope that Suter joins a Canadian team. The Panthers are in the mix but cap space might be an issue considering they’ve got a lot of work to get done with some of their own contracts and Sam Bennett just recently extended with the team on a fairly well-paying four-year deal. Dallas makes sense because they’ve got some cap space and they just lost Jamie Oleksiak to the Seattle Kraken during the NHL Expansion Draft. The team is looking to fill that hole.
Can Suter Still Be Effective?
Suter is older, but he’s still an effective defenseman who can eat a lot of minutes. A four-year deal might be a bit of a risk, but if the right dollar figure is agreed upon, it’s a pretty safe bet he’ll deliver and play a lot for Dallas who wants to get back to the playoffs. He is still a top pairing defenseman and during his prime was one of the best in the league.
One thing that we seem to now know for sure is Suter and Zach Parise have not discussed the idea of signing with the same club again like they did when they went to Minnesota.
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