Watching Ryan Suter hobble in agony to the visitor’s bench at American Airlines Center last March was a tough moment in Wild lore. As we awaited the diagnosis and severity of the injury for the next couple days, the story seemed to be getting more and more bleak by the hour, leading many to wonder if it would go down as not just a bad moment in recent memory, but perhaps one of the worst moments in franchise history.
Minnesota’s $98-million star defenseman, who—at that time—was still logging between 25 and 30 minutes a night as the team’s rock on the blueline, was suddenly gone for the season.