The Red Wings will have to deal now with what is a thin free agent crop after a Western Conference rival yesterday made a move to land both of the marquee standouts that Detroit and several other teams were hoping to sign. Putting an end to days of speculation, the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday agreed to terms with forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter on 13-year contracts, each one reportedly worth about 98-million dollars.

The Red Wings were especially interested in picking up Suter as someone who might try to fill for retired team captain Nicklas Lidstrom.