Report: Parise to decide on team today

The Minnesota Wild say they have submitted offers to free-agent stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter and signed Zenon Konopka and Torrey Mitchell.

The Wild tweeted the news on Sunday, when the free-agent market opened. General manager Chuck Fletcher and owner Craig Leipold have promised that the Wild plan to be aggressive this summer to try to get the team back to the playoffs after a four-year hiatus.

Parise, who is from the Twin Cities and starred at UND, said he thinks he’ll make a decision by Monday after not signing a deal to stay with New Jersey and becoming a free agent.

“I’m not at liberty to say right now who’s in or anything like that,” Parise told reporters. “But just because it got to noon, by no means does that say that the Devils aren’t one of my top teams.”

According to reports, the Pittsburgh Penguins, behind aggressive recruiting from star and Parise close friend Sidney Crosby, are the leaders. Other finalists include the Wild, Devils, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.

Suter, according to another report, is leaning towards the Red Wings. Both players are choosing from multiple big-money offers from several teams.

Konopka played for Ottawa last season and is a physical player who is a specialist on face-offs. Mitchell, a left wing, had nine goals and 10 assists for San Jose last season.

The Wild have more than $19 million in cap room, and are believed to have offered Parise a contract of at least 10 years in length.

Tags: wild, hockey, nhl