After the Wild's 4-3, season-ending loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last Thursday, veteran defenseman Ryan Suter summed up, "It was a bad year."
Although Minnesota had 100 points and won a playoff series, the season started with a shocking loss for the veteran defenseman when his father, Olympian Bob Suter, died of a heart attack at age 57.
Zach Parise lost his father, former NHL star J.P. Parise, to cancer in January at age 73. Although the season was a success in many ways, the deaths of those hockey patriarchs hung over the team's best players.
Suter on Monday said the birth of his second daughter, Parker, in March was "the highlight of the year.