Free Republic

Bob Suter, a member of the 1980 U.S. "Miracle on Ice" team and father of Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, died Tuesday. He was 57. "We are very saddened by today's news that Minnesota Wild scout Bob Suter suddenly passed away," the Wild said in a statement. "The Wild organization sends its condolences to the entire Suter family during this difficult time. Not only was Bob a great hockey ambassador, he was a terrific person off the ice who will be greatly missed by all of us." The cause of death was not given.

There is no guarantee the Minnesota Wild's decision to give matching 13-year, $98 million deals to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter is going to work out. Free agent deals of this magnitude have failed before, setting franchises back and backfiring in ways that no could have expected on the day they were signed. But on Wednesday, as the Wild announced they had secured the services of the two biggest free agents on the market, there was no time for this type of cynicism in the Twin Cities sports community.