Signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter not only makes the Minnesota Wild a playoff team, but Zenon Konopka believes his new club is part of a select group heading into next season.
Konopka, from Niagara- onthe- Lake, signed a two- year, $ 1.85- million deal with the Wild July 1. Three days later, he watched Minnesota pull off a free agent coup by inking both Parise and Suter, the league’s most coveted free agents, both to 13-year contracts.
“I feel like we’re a contender for the (Stanley) Cup,” Konopka said, “but there’s probably 12 legit contenders for the Cup, maybe 14, so there’s still gelling to do and work to do, but it’s nice to be part of 12 or 14 teams.”
Konopka spent last season in Ottawa and, on the first day of free agency, joined a team with which he’s familiar. The 31-yearold knew Wild head coach Mike Yeo, assistant Rick Wilson and general manager Chuck Fletcher from different stops in his professional career.
“I had some familiarity with those guys,” he said. “After that they sold me on the fact they were committed to winning.”
The t eam made it clear to Konopka it was pursuing American-born stars Parise and Suter, but the Independence Day announcement still caught him by surprise.
“It was a great week,” he said. “As much as they sold me on it being a winner, you didn’t know how long it was going to take to attract one or two guys like that. It was a lot of fun sitting back and watching them sign their deals and going from a playoff team to legit contender.”
Konopka registered three goals, two assists and 193 penalty minutes in 55 regular season games with the Senators. He would like to improve on his point totals, but the six- foot, 209-pound centre is expected to bring toughness, leadership and faceoff ability to a team that has added skill to its top line and defensive unit.
“They want to be harder to play against, and that fits pretty well with my game,” Konopka said. “They were a first-place hockey team for the first third of (last) year, so I feel like one thing they talked about was leadership was a big thing to make sure we didn’t slide too far (again).”
Barring a trade, Konopka’s two-year, one-way deal ensures he will play more than one season with the same team since totaling 77 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 20082010.
“It’s something that’s been awhile,” he said. “It’s something I’m pretty happy about and excited.”