Suter, Wild 'willing to do whatever' if NHL season is able to resume

Ryan Suter has heard some of the options the NHL is considering if it is able to resume the 2019-20 season, including playing games at neutral sites or in NHL arenas without fans in attendance, and the Minnesota Wild defenseman is on board with whatever is decided.

Suter simply wants the Wild to have the chance to finish this season after it was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

"We're willing to do whatever," Suter said Friday. "We want to play. Our team was really playing well down the stretch here, and we want to see if we can continue that."

The Wild (35-27-7) started the season 1-6-0 and coach Bruce Boudreau was fired and replaced by assistant Dean Evason on Feb. 14. Minnesota was making a push under Evason, winning eight of its final 11 games before the pause to climb within one point of the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

"This year has been such an emotional roller coaster," Suter said. "We started out terrible. ... We battled back and went through ups and downs, and to finally be in a position to have an opportunity to make the playoffs says a lot about our group."

Suter had nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his past 10 games and was second on the Wild with 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) in 69 games. He is tied for ninth in the NHL with an average ice time of 24:38.

"Things were going good," Suter said. "We were clicking as a team and guys were kind of reenergized. We'd made it through the kind of dog days of the season and we were getting ready for our push to make the playoffs."

Suter said Evason didn't make any drastic alterations after taking over from Boudreau, but the Wild responded after the coaching change. Since Feb. 14, they are third in the NHL at 3.58 goals per game and fourth on the penalty kill at 91.2 percent (31-for-34).

"It's tough when you're the assistant coach and they ask you to step in and be the head coach, and I think he did a great job," Suter said. "He had made some subtle changes, didn't change a whole lot. I think he knew the personnel, which was a huge benefit for him, for us, and I think guys just said, 'OK.' Maybe it was a wake-up call for our team to pick it up and to get going."

Suter said he appreciates having the chance to spend some unexpected time at home with his wife, Becky, and their four children. But after 15 seasons in the NHL without winning the Stanley Cup, Suter said he knows he might not have many opportunities left.

"Guys only get to do this for so long," the 35-year-old said. "I've been fortunate. I've been able to do it for longer than the average. So, yeah, at any age I think you want to play, and you don't want to lose these opportunities."

Suter said he remains hopeful that the season will be resumed and the Wild will be able to finish the push they started.

"Would it be disappointing to end it like this?" he said. "Yes, just because I know that we do go have a good group of guys, guys that want to win and want to have a chance to win. So, yeah, it would be disappointing from where we were at the start of the year to where we are now."