Suter_Holtby

Ryan Suter
and Braden Holtby each signed a contract with the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.

Suter, a 36-year-old defenseman, signed for four years and $14.6 million ($3.65 million average annual value). He was an unrestricted free agent after he had the final four seasons of his 13-year, $98 million contract ($7.54 million AAV) bought out by the Minnesota Wild on July 13.
"It's been an emotional roller coaster for sure," Suter said Thursday. "When everything first happened, you're in shock. I received a call and didn't know what to say. I was in shock, couldn't believe it was happening. I know I've played solid and I know I have a lot more to give. So you go through that phase and as you go further along, you're just thinking about, this is a great opportunity for me. I get to go pick a team that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup.
"So you go from a low to the ultimate high as a player, as a professional athlete. You want to be wanted and it was very eye-opening to see all the options that we had. I just thought it was the right fit. I thought this would be a perfect fit for us."
Suter scored 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 56 regular-season games and had one assist in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. He scored 369 points (55 goals, 314 assists) in 656 regular-season games with the Wild and is their leader among defensemen in points, assists, power-play points (138), rating (plus-62), shots on goal (1,225) and ice time (17,731:09). He scored 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in 42 playoff games with Minnesota.
Suter averaged at least 26:42 of ice time per game in each of his first seven seasons with the Wild. His average of 29:25 per game in 2013-14 is the most by any player since the NHL began tracking ice time in 1997-98.
"Well, Ryan Suter's been one of the top defensemen in the NHL for many years," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "That's a great veteran, has a great presence, he's a heavy-minute cruncher. He reminds me a lot of Chris Chelios when I was in Detroit, one of those guys who doesn't seem to age. He's the type of player that can be on a minute-and-a-half shift, come back to the bench, and in 10 seconds, the coach can tap him on the shoulder, he's ready to go again. He's a heavy body, he's got iron lungs, and he's a great skater.

Ryan Suter joins Dallas Stars

"Ryan is a true professional and will be a great fit in our top four. He has a huge influence on the game with his ability to diffuse plays, which injects a sense of calmness into his teammates. He is able to play in every situation and as a veteran of 16 NHL seasons, his wealth of experience will be a great addition to our dressing room."
A first-round pick (No. 7) by the Nashville Predators in the 2003 NHL Draft, Suter has scored 607 points (93 goals, 514 assists) in 1,198 NHL games and 25 points (six goals, 25 assists) in 88 NHL playoff games.
"I think I can play until I'm 45 if I want," Suter said. "I just think the way I play, that's what I was telling (agent Neil Sheehy). If my birth certificate said I was 27, the way I played, my play hasn't gone down over the last 10 years. I think it's actually gotten better. I feel stronger, more experienced. So just kind of all those things give me a lot of confidence that I can play after this contract if I want to."
Holtby, a 31-year-old goalie, signed for one year and $2 million. He was an unrestricted free agent after he had the final season of his two-year, $8.6 million contract ($4.3 million AAV) bought out by the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. He was 7-11-3 with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .889 save percentage in 21 games last season; it was the highest GAA and lowest save percentage of his 11-season NHL career. In early February, he became the backup to Thatcher Demko, who was 16-18-1 with a 2.85 GAA, a .915 save percentage and one shutout in 35 games. The 25-year-old signed a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million AAV) with the Canucks on April 8.
"I think Braden's the first one to admit he hasn't been himself the last two years but his resume is very good, he's won the Stanley Cup
(one-year, $1.1 million) and defenseman
Jani Hakanpaa
(three years, $4.5 million) on Thursday.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report