No Parise, Suter decisions tonight; Wild signs Torry Mitchell, Zenon Konopka

UPDATED

The Wild, entrenched in its pursuit against many others for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, was aggressive right off the bat, loading up with speed and power on the third and fourth lines by signing Ottawa Senators center Zenon Konopka to a two-year deal worth $925,000 per and San Jose Sharks center/right wing Torrey Mitchell to a three-year deal worth $1.9 million per.

As for Parise, he called off all in-person pitches and only talked to teams by phone, I'm told. I don't know what to make of that, but according to Pierre McGuire on TSN, Pittsburgh is the frontrunner, which wouldn't be a shock. And McGuire is bigtime buddies with Pens GM Ray Shero.

I am told a decision will come tomorrow. Parise will think about things tonight and they'll reconvene tomorrow for the decision.

"He has narrowed the list of teams to a small select group," said agent Wade Arnott.

There is no doubt the Wild has offered astronomical contracts for both. But so did half the league, with Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Philadelphia and Carolina making runs at both Parise and Suter. Crosby was part of Pittsburgh's recruiting.

As for Suter, agent Neil Sheehy's phone blew up and he called each team methodically one by one. Suter did not meet with teams today. Sheehy emailed me and said there's no truth to the rumor he's decided on Detroit and they have a lot to consider.

So stay tuned.

Coach Mike Yeo badly wants to get tougher and faster. Signing Konopka and Mitchell does that at least.

Konopka, 31, was tied for fourth last year with 18 fights, has 92 in his career and is a great faceoff guy (career .588). This regime has long liked him. He has 27 points in 250 career games.

He said he takes a lot of pride in faceoffs and compounding that into penalty killing, which is his MO. You don't get too many fighters in the NHL that can play a regular shift.

But toughness is his bread and butter.

Koivu does love reading the paper!

Mitchell, 27, is fast and hounds the puck, Dany Heatley says.

"First thing is his speed," Heatley said from his home in Kelowna. "He's one of the top guys in the league, that's how fast he is. Real good team guy, a guy that's going to kill penalties for us, hound the puck. He's real tough to play against because of his speed and his tenacity. He's got some ability to produce a little bit offensively if he's in the right spot. He put up real good numbers in college [Vermont]."

Yes, Mitchell is the player who hit Kurtis Foster from behind on the ice four years ago resulting in a broken femur.

"Not a good situation to be involved in," Mitchell said. "I'm glad he's recovered and the little trauma I had from it, I'm recovered. It was tough. It was my rookie year and I'm a pretty honest player and to get tangled up in that situation was not something I wanted to be a part of. It was difficult. We have a good relationship now."

Mitchell also broke his leg three years ago ironically, missed all of 2008-09 and has played wing since. He says he's super pumped.

Heatley, by the way, said his knee feels great and has gotten into a good workout routine.

I still have not talked to the Wild, but I will say this, as I mentioned on the previous blog, there's only so much cap space and so many bodies. Signing two NHLers for your third and fourth line now could mean trading some guys later this summer. It also means the Wild is clearly not going to push their kids right onto the team.

So far, Guillaume Latendresse got a one-year deal worth $1.2 million and bonuses in Ottawa. Mike Lundin signed for one year worth $1.15 million in Ottawa, too.

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