Ken Holland Talks About Missing Out On Ryan Suter, Zach Parise

More than half of the NHL was interested in signing one of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Only a few select teams had a legitimate shot at signing both, though. The Detroit Red Wings were one of them, and they were in the hunt for Suter and Parise until the very end. Unfortunately, the very end was Suter and Parise both agreeing to 13-year, $98 million deals with the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.

Missing out on both free agents certainly stings, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. The Red Wings offered "competitive" deals to both players, but it just wasn't to be for the Red Wings. As general manager Ken Holland said on Wednesday after learning of the news, now it's time to move on.

Just chatted with Ken Holland, ``We feel good about our offers to both Suter and Parise. They were very competitive. Now we move on.''

— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 4, 2012

Holland says he's happy Wingshad the chance to meet with Suter yesterday. Was joined there by Mr. Illitch, Chris Chelios and Mike Babcock

— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 4, 2012

The Red Wings will likely move on by exploring a variety of backup plans for adding help on defense and scoring on offense. What exactly those plans will entail is likely to become clearer in the coming days.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Decides To Sign With Minnesota Wild

The Zach Parise sweepstakes has concluded. The winners? The Minnesota Wild, which also won the Ryan Suter sweepstakes. Parise eliminated the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday afternoon and agreed to a 13-year deal with the Wild shortly after, according to the Star Tribune's Michael Russo.

While the Red Wings reportedly made a very intriguing offer to Parise, in the end he opted to join Suter in Minnesota with the Wild. The possibility of a package deal had been talked about as far back as May, but in the last week it didn't seem all that likely. Things dramatically changed in the last day, however, and now the Wild have become the absolute winners of NHL free agency.

In terms of what effect Parise's decision has on the Red Wings, they still have a need to add a top forward to their lineup. Rick Nash trade rumors have been swirling, and there is talk about the Red Wings pursuing Alexander Semin or possibly even Shane Doan. It's a good bet that they will explore those and other options with Parise off the board.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise's Decision 'Likely' Coming On Wednesday

It looks like Ryan Suter won't be the only one deciding on his future on Wednesday. There is a very good chance that fellow free agent Zach Parise will also make a decision on the Fourth of July. From the Free Press' Helene St. James:

Just heard from Wade Arnott, agent for Zach Parise: "Likely a decision today."

— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) July 4, 2012

It's worth pointing out that we heard something similar from the Parise camp on Tuesday and no decision was made. Just because a decision is considered "likely" doesn't mean there will be one.

Of course, if Ryan Suter decides on Wednesday as is expected, then it would sort of be surprising for Parise to keep waiting. They are the two big dominoes on the open market, and considering there is a lot of talk about both choosing the same team in order to play together, you wouldn't think there would be a huge gap of time in between their decisions.

All I know right now is that I'm both excited and nervous with this process finally starting to wind down. I'm excited for "Suter Watch" and "Parise Watch" to end, but the possibility of the Detroit Red Wings missing out on both players is terrifying.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

NHL Rumors: Ryan Suter, Zach Parise Talking About Playing Together?

Way back in May, Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News reported that one NHL team official was expecting Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to be a package deal. They had allegedly previously discussed the possibility of playing together, and this source even believed that Suter and Parise were setting things up so they could join the same team.

Now, with July 4 here and still no decision having been made by either player, talk is once again starting to focus on Parise and Suter joining the same team. In an interview on Tuesday night, Parise admitted that he's been talking with Suter, and he also admitted that he would love to be part of a package deal with him.

Parise tells @joshrimerhockey "I'd love to play on a team w Ryan Suter. To get an opp. to play with him would be great."

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 4, 2012

That report from May indicated that if Suter and Parise were to go as a package, the Detroit Red Wings would likely be the lucky team getting both. Although the Red Wings have offered contracts to both players, it now looks like the Minnesota Wild may be the favorite to land them if this does turn out to be a package deal. The Star Tribune's Michael Russo has been strongly indicating that the Wild are in good shape with both free agents, and just from reading the tea leaves, Minnesota seems like a more likely destination for Parise than Detroit.

The good news for now is that the Red Wings do appear to still be in the mix for both players. After all, Suter hosted the Red Wings for a meeting on Tuesday. He also hosted the Wild, indicating that this could be a two-team race for his services. If Parise opts to go somewhere other than Minnesota, speculation suggests the Red Wings would be the favorite to land Suter. On the flip side, if Parise does sign with Minnesota, then Suter may end up there for that reason alone.

While it's nice to know that the Red Wings still have a shot at both players, all of this talk about the Wild ending up with both is a bit concerning. TSN's Darren Dreger tweeted on Wednesday morning that he expects the "saga" to conclude on the Fourth of July, and he thinks one or two teams "will be celebrating." In other words, this may come down to the top two free agents choosing one team like the Wild, or it may be a situation where Parise opts to sign somewhere other than Minnesota and Suter ends up choosing Detroit.

Let the fireworks begin.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise's Decision 'Probably' Coming On Tuesday

The theme since "Parise Watch" officially began on Sunday has been that a decision could come at any time. Sunday and Monday both came and went without a decision, and we are now on the third day of waiting for Zach Parise to sign. A decision could still come at any time and might even made on Tuesday. While there are no guarantees, this sounds promising:

Zach Parise's camp says decision will "probably [be] later today" #mnwild #nhl #penguins #devils #redwings #blackhawks #flyers #anyoneelse

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 3, 2012

When he met with the media on Monday, Parise sounded like he was inching closer to a decision. He wanted more time to think things over, which is understandable, and now it appears that he is in fact moving closer to announcing something. Hopefully this is the case and we can bring "Parise Watch" to a close before the day is over.

As for "Suter Watch," there's no telling when it will end. Ryan Suter's agent said on Tuesday that "a deal will happen when it happens," indicating that Suter is in no rush to choose a team.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

What Is Mike Babcock Doing In Minnesota?!

Zach Parise Rumors: No Decision Has Been Made Yet

"Parise Watch" isn't over yet. When word got out that Zach Parise was set to meet with the media late Monday afternoon, the thinking was that a decision had been made. All day there had been speculation and rumors about certain teams emerging in the Parise sweepstakes, and while there may be a team that Parise is leaning toward signing with, no actual decisions have been made just yet.

Parise declined to establish a specific timetable for a decision, but he did indicate that it should be coming in the "near future." Of course, Parise may have a different definition of "near future" than others, so there's really no telling when he will come to a decision.

Here are some highlights from Parise's media session:

Pushed Parise to give a timeline on decision; all he would say is 'in the near future'; noted that he appreciates everyone being patient

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 2, 2012

Zach Parise: I'm getting closer but haven't made a decision. I haven't set and deadlines.

— David Shoalts (@dshoalts) July 2, 2012

The plan is Parise will come back here to Minnesota tomorrow, discuss with fiance and get back to his agents "later;" nothing imminent

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) July 2, 2012

Parise on taking his time: 'It's such a long-term, important decision, you have to make sure you look at everything'

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 2, 2012

Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press just before Parise's media session that the team hadn't been told anything about a possible decision. In that sense, it's good news that Parise hasn't actually decided anything yet, because if he had made up his mind and the Red Wings hadn't heard anything, chances are he wouldn't be signing with Detroit.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Red Wings Rumors: Detroit Out Of Zach Parise Sweepstakes?

While no decision has been made yet by Zach Parise about where he will sign, it's starting to become clear that he probably won't end up joining the Detroit Red Wings. This is all based on rumors and speculation right now, but it seems like Parise is favoring a return to the New Jersey Devils or going somewhere like Pittsburgh or Minnesota. While nothing is definitive yet, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reports that things aren't looking good for the Red Wings' pursuit of Parise.

No confirmation on this yet, could be wrong, but I'm led to believe the Red Wings are out of the Parise race.

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 2, 2012

Detroit's still very much a big player in the Suter sweepstakes. Parise, though, doesn't look likely (still possible, but I'm told no)

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 2, 2012

If the Red Wings are in fact out of the running for Parise, they will have to start looking at other options to upgrade their top-level talent at forward. Perhaps a trade for Rick Nash or Bobby Ryan will be explored, or perhaps the Red Wings will decide to make an offer to free agent Alexander Semin.

In any case, as of right now it looks like the Red Wings' hopes of making a splash in free agency will now come down to landing Suter.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Red Wings Rumors: No In-Person Visits Planned For Monday

All is quiet right now on the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise front. While a decision is expected from both players at some point on Monday, at this time no decisions have been made. Both players are still sorting through the offers they have been presented, and it is possible this could carry over into Tuesday.

As Suter and Parise continue to try and figure out what they are going to do, the plan of not having any teams meet with them in person has remain unchanged. The Detroit Red Wings were hoping to meet with both players on Sunday, but Suter wasn't interested in hosting teams for visits and Parise's agent canceled all of his client's meetings when the amount of interest became too high.

Even though no visits happened on Sunday, the Red Wings were hoping to be able to make an in-person sales pitch to Suter on Monday, but as of right now no visits are scheduled.

Red Wings have no plans to visit any player today.

— Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) July 2, 2012

Wings, like other teams, are waiting to hear from Suter and Parise's agents. They were told no face-to-face meetings today with any clubs.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 2, 2012

Right now everybody is playing a waiting game. Not only are the teams still in contention for Suter and Parise waiting to see what happens, but so is the rest of the league. The two biggest dominoes need to fall before the rest of the market can really start to take shape, and until Suter and Parise make their decisions, there likely won't be a ton of notable activity around the NHL.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Red Wings Still 'In The Mix' For Ryan Suter, Zach Parise

Day one of NHL free agency is starting to wind down and the top two UFAs are still unsigned. Both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise fielded calls from what seems like most of the league on Sunday, and they are planning to wait to make a decision until Monday.

While no firm decisions have been made one way or the other, Suter and Parise have at least started to narrow down the list of teams they are interested in. Luckily for the Detroit Red Wings, both Suter and Parise still have them in the mix heading into Monday.

Wings done for the day. Holland said they're still in the mix for Suter and Parise.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 1, 2012

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland also said that the team made "presentations or pitches to the Parise and Suter camps" on Sunday. In other words, their work is done. Now it's up to the free agents to make their decisions.

By this time on Monday, the Red Wings should have a much better idea of what their roster will look like going forward, allowing additional moves to fall into place.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors: List Of Teams Narrowed Down, Decision Coming On Monday

Monday could either be a really awesome or really awful day for the Detroit Red Wings. Not only is defenseman Ryan Suter set to make his decision on Monday, but so is forward Zach Parise. The two free agents have spent Sunday fielding offers, and both players are expected to make a final decision on Monday after having a bit more time to think things over.

For Parise, his decision on Monday will come after he reconvenes with his agents in the morning to further discuss the offers he has received, according to Michael Russo. Parise has already narrowed the list of teams he is considering, according Bob McKenzie, so the process of coming to a decision is progressing.

Zach Parise's decision will not come until tomorrow. Has narrowed the field to a select group and will decide Monday.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2012

If the Detroit Red Wings turn out to not be one of the teams still in the mix to land Parise, chances are word will leak out. Right now, there has been no indication that the Red Wings are out of the mix, so let's hope it stays that way.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors: Decision Coming On Monday?

It's looking increasingly unlikely that free-agent forward Zach Parise will make a decision about his future on Sunday. The first sign of this came earlier in the day when Parise's agent canceled all of his client's scheduled in-person meetings with teams. There was simply too much interest, so Parise's agent decided to have teams submit their offers over the phone.

The other big sign that a decision might not be made until Monday at the earliest comes from Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford, who doesn't expect to hear from the Parise camp on Sunday.

Carolina GM Jim Rutherford says Parise decision on where to sign likely coming Monday.

— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) July 1, 2012

Parise reportedly has offers on the table that include $80-90 million over 12 years. At this point, with so much money being offered, it may ultimately come down to the best fit for Parise. Considering just how many teams have expressed interest, I wouldn't be surprised if this went beyond Monday.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Red Wings Submit Contract Offers To Ryan Suter, Zach Parise

While there has been a lot of contradictory information about the Detroit Red Wings' plans to meet with free agents Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, one piece of news has been confirmed by general manager Ken Holland. Specifically, Holland confirmed to the Free Press' Helene St. James that the Red Wings have submitted contract offers to both Suter and Parise. This should come as no surprise, of course, but this news has now been confirmed.

Confirmation that offers have gone out to Suter and Parise came after there were various reports in the last hour that contradicted each other. Mainly, there was a lot of differing info on Parise and the Red Wings' plans to meet with him. At one point, there was a report that the Red Wings had a meeting scheduled with Parise. Then, Pierre LeBrun reported that the meeting was off despite the fact that Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock was already in Toronto for the meeting.

It turns out the confusion was a result of Parise's agent canceling all in-person meetings due to the ridiculous amount of interest in his client. MLive's Ansar Khan has more on this:

But Parise's agent, Don Meehan, called them and said he has canceled all meetings because more than 20 clubs have asked to see him and he can't possibly accommodate everybody.

Meehan told teams to submit their best offer by phone, and the Red Wings have submitted a big one. Parise will consider all the offers.

According to St. James, Babcock is now headed home from Toronto after not meeting with anybody. At the start of the day, it seemed like the Red Wings would be having in-person meetings with both Parise and Suter, but in the end neither player is hosting meetings for the time being. Perhaps this will change once the two players narrow down the list of teams they are interested in.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors: Red Wings' Meeting Scheduled For Sunday Afternoon?

Shortly after NHL free agency opened on Sunday, Pierre LeBrun reported that the Detroit Red Wings were sending owner Mike Ilitch, general manager Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock to Toronto to meet with free agent Zach Parise. Initially, there was some confusion over this report because Ilitch was expected to be in Wisconsin to meet with Ryan Suter. There was a change of plans, however, and Ilitch is instead set to be part of the Red Wings' contingent meeting with Parise.

According to MLive's Ansar Khan, the Red Wings have a meeting scheduled with Parise for Sunday afternoon.

Ilitch, Holland & Co. flying out this afternoon. They have one hour meeting with Parise slated for 3:30.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) July 1, 2012

Several teams will likely be making an in-person pitch to Parise on Sunday. The Red Wings are merely one of them, but the fact that they will get an hour to make their presentation is nice to see. Hopefully they make the most of it and are able to convince Parise to sign with them.

UPDATE: The Free Press reports that Holland is currently at Joe Louis Arena and doesn't plan on going anywhere other than "home" later in the day. Perhaps this means he isn't joining Ilitch and Babcock for the in-person meeting, or perhaps the report about there being a meeting is incorrect.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors: Red Wings' Ken Holland To Meet With Free Agent In Toronto?

Forward Zach Parise will be in Toronto with his agents when NHL free agency opens at noon ET on Sunday. Parise is likely going to be visited by several teams as they make their pitch, as he will be the top free-agent forward on the open market.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the teams expected to pay Parise a visit. According to MLive's Ansar Kahn, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is "expected to be in Toronto to meet with Parise and his agents." Holland is apparently the one responsible for courting Parise, whereas owner Mike Ilitch and team adviser Chris Chelios are the ones set to be in Wisconsin to meet with free-agent defenseman Ryan Suter.

As if it wasn't clear enough before, Parise and Suter are definitely the Red Wings' top free agent targets. Nobody else on the open market will likely be getting a visit from the Red Wings on Sunday, although Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock is ready to "fly wherever they want me to fly." He is currently waiting to hear if his presence is required at a meeting with a free agent. For now, Holland is leading the charge to sign Parise and Ilitch and Chelios are apparently in charge of wooing Suter.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors: Red Wings Target To Be With Agents In Toronto For Start Of Free Agency

When NHL free agency opens on Sunday, Ryan Suter, the player believed to be the Detroit Red Wings' top target, is planning to be on his farm in Wisconsin. Zach Parise, one of the Red Wings' other top targets, is taking a more conventional approach. He, like some other big-name free agents of the past, will be in Toronto with his agents, according to Nick Kypreos.

Much like #Rangers Richards last July, #Devils Parise will be in Toronto huddled with Newport Sports awaiting #NHL teams to present offers

— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) June 30, 2012

Before free agency opens, Parise had a meeting scheduled with New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello on Saturday, according to Bob McKenzie. At this point it's obviously highly unlikely that Parise will suddenly decide to re-sign before even testing free agency. Even so, he's clearly keeping the Devils in the mix as free agency gets ready to open.

For more on the Red Wings, head over to Winging It In Motown. For more NHL coverage, be sure to visit SB Nation's NHL hub.

Zach Parise Says He Wants To Re-Sign With Devils

New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise met with the media on Wednesday, two days after his team was defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final. Parise was asked plenty about his impending free agent status, and although he didn't sound too interested in talking about it, he did reiterate his desire to re-sign with the Devils.

"I like the people here," he said of his remaining a Devil. "I like the staff, my teammates. I like the area. There’s a lot of good things about this place."

The only other really noteworthy comment about free agency from Parise was that there is "no way" he would sign with the New York Rangers. There has been plenty of talk about him drawing interest from the Rangers, but Parise doesn't seem interested in going to a rival of the Devils.

While Parise very well may end up re-signing with the Devils, his comments about wanting to stay in New Jersey don't mean a whole lot right now. A captain isn't going to say anything too rash about leaving his team just days after being eliminated from the playoffs. Besides, once July 1 hits, anything goes and you can pretty much throw out all past comments, even the one about the Rangers.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Zach Parise Rumors Expected To Start Heating Up

With the New Jersey Devils losing to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, the NHL season came to a close. The Kings won the Stanley Cup by knocking off the Devils in six games, and the offseason has now officially arrived for the entire league. The time for all of the speculation and rumors to start swirling about where Devils forward Zach Parise will sign has also arrived. As Chris Vannini tweeted, "Parise Watch" is now underway.

In reality, Red Wings fans have been on "Parise Watch" for the better part of a year. They have also been keeping an eye for quite some time on Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Suter, who will likely be the Red Wings' top target when free agency opens on July 1. Consider Suter to be target 1A and Parise 1B, because they will be the top free agents on the open market, and both are expected to command interest from several teams, including the Red Wings.

Although rumors have already been swirling about Parise and the Red Wings for a while, the focus is now squarely on his future with his season actually being over. When the Predators were eliminated a month ago, the same thing happened with Suter. All of the focus turned to Suter's future, and although things were relatively quiet in the week or so after his season ended, the activity has since picked up quite a bit.

With free agency 19 days away, you can bet there will be plenty of rumors swirling about Parise in the coming weeks, and quite a few of them will almost certainly involve the Red Wings.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

Red Wings Likely Interested In Trading For Negotiating Rights To Certain Free Agents

The Detroit Red Wings are not happy with the way things worked out for them in the 2012 NHL Playoffs. An early exit has many questioning whether the team has peaked, and whether or not they'd be able to make a successful rebound in a season. Most are of the opinion that the team needs to get aggressive to keep things alive, and it appears they might just be doing that.

According to Ansar Khan of MLive.com, the Red Wings could be interested in trading for some negotiating rights this offseason. If a team feels that one of their free agents is unlikely to re-sign, they can trade the exclusive negotiating rights to another team, generally for a draft pick.

Detroit has just signed some of their draft picks and they're excited about some of the young talent currently in the system. Right now, they don't need draftees, they need some bigger name free agents here and now. The report states that the Red Wings are very interested in Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter and New Jersey forward Zach Parise.

As it happens, those are the top two free agents this year. While both of them have a solid chance of returning to their teams, it is intriguing to think of either player with the Red Wings. If Detroit traded for their negotiating rights, it would certainly increase their chances of signing either player to a deal.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.

5 Key Questions Red Wings Face This Offseason

The 2012 offseason is a very important one for the Detroit Red Wings, and they face several key questions about what they will do during it.

NHL Rumors: Potential Red Wings Targets Ryan Suter, Zach Parise To Be Package Deal?

When NHL free agency opens on July 1, the Detroit Red Wings' top two targets are expected to be defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Zach Parise. They are going to be the top two free agents on the open market, and fueled by lots of cap space and a desire to make a splash, the Red Wings are expected to make a hard push to sign one or both.

According to The Detroit News' Gregg Krupa, Suter and Parise very well may want to sign with the same team, which would be good news for the Red Wings. Citing their history of playing together for the United States in the past, as well as NHL sources, Krupa reports that Suter and Parise may be looking for a package deal.

"I am assuming that, at least as of right now, they are a package deal," said one NHL team official, who is aware of the circumstances.

"They certainly seem to have set it up that way, themselves."

There are still another five or so weeks until free agency, and once it opens, a lot could happen. For now, though, it's nice to think about the possibility of the Red Wings landing both Suter and Parise. Krupa certainly made a strong argument for why they could both end up in Detroit, and if it were to happen, the Red Wings would once again be considered one of the top contenders to win the Stanley Cup in 2012-13.

For more on the Detroit Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown. You can check out more hockey news from around the league at SB Nation's NHL page.