Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cullen, a Minnesota native and resident, has lost track of how many times one of two questions has been asked of him from complete strangers at area grocery stores.
Wild fans often stopped him and asked, "Are we going to get Zach?" If not that, it was, "Are we going to get Ryan?"
Few even dared to ask if they could land both.
On Wednesday, it happened. Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher and owner Craig Leipold landed the two best players in free agency by signing defenseman Ryan Suter and forward Zach Parise, changing the grocery store question dramatically.
Now it becomes, how much can they win with them?
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- Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
- Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Wrote for The Sporting News
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Craig Custance
Craig Custance joined ESPN in September 2011 as an NHL reporter for ESPN the Magazine, ESPN Insider and ESPN.com. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lived for nearly a decade in Georgia working for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he spent time covering the late Atlanta Thrashers. He was the only Thrashers beat writer to get the team to the playoffs.
From 2008-11 he was the national hockey writer for the Sporting News, writing regularly in print and online. A member of the PHWA, he's a proud voter for the major NHL awards and can occasionally defend his selections.
Like hockey, he left Atlanta to return north where he currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, with his wife Cassie and their three kids.
Follow Craig on Twitter: @CraigCustance
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