5 Defenseman To Target In Free Agency Not Named Dougie Hamilton

Ryan Suter

The Minnesota Wild shocked the hockey world when they ended the blockbuster summer of 2012 in an instant earlier in July. They bought out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Both players still have something in the tank, but last season Suter shows he had so much more left in the tank than the former Devils captain has.

Reports say that Suter wants a four-year deal. I bet he does, but it’s not likely he is going to get that. The Devils would be willing to give him two years, and there aren’t many teams out there giving that to a recently bought-out player who is already 36 years old. The New York Islanders are the team that has been tied to Suter the most, but it would be interesting if Suter went to the team that he helped take Parise from nine years ago.

Suter would be a nice second-line left-handed defenseman. The Devils have Ty Smith on the top line, but they will need someone to replace Ryan Murray, who is set to hit the free-agent market. Suter obviously isn’t a long-term solution, but he is an interesting fit. He could easily play second-line minutes while teaching some of the young defensemen how to play.

The issue with this signing is who would pair with Suter. You don’t want to pair him with P.K. Subban. They have both fallen off defensively and have turned offense into their main source of contribution. Jonas Siegenthaler would be an interesting pair (even though he’s left handed too).