Wild owner Craig Leipold, general manager Chuck Fletcher and the rest of the Wild decision-makers deserve a ton of praise today for winning the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter free-agent sweepstakes.

Leipold was determined to make bold moves this offseason and he's accomplished that in a big way. He committed nearly $200 million today to sign Parise and Suter. For Wild fans -- or any team's fans -- that's all you can ask of your owner.

Do whatever it takes to try and build a winner. Go after top free-agent targets. Don't be afraid to compete with the big boys in your sport.

Leipold is a diehard fan. I watched a preseason game in his suite last season and I can tell you he lives and dies with each shift. He wants to win badly and today's news demonstrates that.

Expectations for this team suddenly change now. This team has a core of Parise, Suter, Koivu, Heatley, Backstrom, Setoguchi and a crop of talented youngsters coming in. Fans will look at this team differently now.

Fletcher has put together a talented roster and it will be interesting to see how Mike Yeo makes it all fit when the Wild comes together in training camp.

The Wild has some life and energy again. It has some buzz. They still have to prove that they can win on the ice, but their moves Wednesday show this team is determined to make that happen.