When you are a player with a 13-year, $98 million dollar contract, you would think that there wouldn’t be a lot to complain about. But apparently for Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, he has a lot to say. He wasn’t happy to be paired with Jonas Brodin. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune put a lot of what Suter said into perspective in this report:
“This is no swipe at Brodin because Suter respects him as a player, but Suter’s had a solid start to this season, especially offensively, and he thinks playing with a right-shot like Spurgeon gives him more options in all three zones. On skating with Brodin, Suter said, “Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on there. He decided to change things up. I don’t know what they’re thinking.””
It was also noted by the Star Tribune that Suter added a tad bit of a disclaimer when the cameras stopped rolling:
“Suter did make very clear when the cameras were off that he will do whatever it takes to win, and if the coaches think this is the best way to go, he has no problem with it.”
Suter who is statistically on pace to have his best season to date actually has a foot to stand on in this case with 21 points in 22 games. The way he has been playing with Spurgeon has been revelatory and is reinvigorating him offensively. Now is this a case of Spurgeon carrying Suter? One would have to lean that way if the graph below is any indication.
As you can see from the graph, Spurgeon is a hell of a player in his own right. He does everything well and moves play with some of the best in the league. Suter doesn’t want to get away from that type of play. A teammate who can make you look good is almost as valuable as your own play.
Recently, Suter expanded on what he said to the media.
Suter said the heat of yesterday's practice, he said things that shouldn't have been said. Said he's on same page with Yeo #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 1, 2015
Suter said bottom line is he was just saying it's easier to play w a righty, but he'll do whatever the coaches think will bring wins #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 1, 2015
It is important to note that the Wild have one win in the past seven games. Regardless of the outcome of this situation, it is interesting to see where Suter, Yeo and the Wild all stand at the end of this season. They can play it off as a joking matter but we may have gotten a peak behind the curtain in an ever evolving situation.
(Graph courtesy of Ownthepuck.blogspot.com)
