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On Monday, the Minnesota Wild held a press conference at the Xcel Energy Center to officially introduce newly signed free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Before the media was allowed to ask questions, the two seven-year veterans donned Wild jerseys for the first time. However, on the front of each player’s sweater was a large “A”, as both have been awarded alternate captainships.
In his final season with the New Jersey Devils, Parise served as the team’s lead captain. The Minneapolis native led the club all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, before falling in six games to the Los Angeles Kings.
Suter, who has spent all seven seasons of his NHL career with the Nashville Predators, served as an alternate captain for a Tennessee club that has made playoff appearances in five out of the last six years. Last season, Nashville was eliminated in the second round by the Phoenix Coyotes.
Both players were also alternate captains for the 2010 United States Olympic hockey team that won the silver medal in Vancouver.
It is interesting that this was announced so quickly-at one point it even appeared to surprise Parise a little bit. After all, the pair has been on the team for less than ten days. However, the decision itself shouldn’t be much of a shocker, given the captainship history of both players. There had even been some small discussion among fans as to whether or not Parise should replace current Minnesota captain Mikko Koivu as the one to wear the “C”, though this seemed both unwise and unlikely given Koivu’s experience in that position with Minnesota.
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