The Incomparable HARTY Awards

 The players and owners of the NHL fought an ugly battle during the most recent lockout. There were times when it seemed neither side would budge an inch on certain issues. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman worked to ensure the owners would make all the money in world, while Donald Fehr headed up the NHLPA working to ensure as many player rights (and cash) as possible. In the end, compromises were made to salvage what remained of a 2012-13 season, but they came at a price...
 As a result of the lockout, the players lost their trip to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards Show. Instead the NHL is presenting their annual awards on the Internet and on NHL Network between Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Respected veterans like Jean-Sebastian Giguere understand how much players value their Vegas vacation, but this year, the league couldn't give it to them. What a disgrace.
 That's why this year, The Hart of Hockey will try to make it up to the athletes of the NHL with this year's HARTY Awards. I would like to extend a formal invitation to all of the winners of the 2013 HARTYs to come to lovely Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and meet at the Primanti Brothers location on Route 60 to receive your award in person! Of course, you'll have to pay for your plane ticket... and hotel... and anything else you decide to do for entertainment. But The Hart of Hockey would be more than happy to cover the expense of Primanti's sandwich upon the presentation of your award!
 With that generous offer on the table, this year's winners are...

Call Of The Wild

 The epic free agency tales of Parise Watch and Suter Watch have come to an end, and the conclusion did not disappoint. That is, unless you're a fan of the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, or Nashville Predators. The headliners of this year's free agency class, forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter, have both decided to join the Minnesota Wild. Earlier today, the two agreed to terms on identical 13-year, $98 million deals.
 Parise and Suter, both age 27, made it public that they would place a great emphasis on going to a team where they could contend for championships when making their decisions, and this was very well-known among the hockey community. But when their decisions to join Minnesota broke this morning, there was an uproar on social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook with many people accusing them of going back on their criterion for winning teams saying things like,

Or take the popular comedy Twitter account, Happy Gilmore, for example:

 Surely a lot of these comments are coming from disgruntled Wings and Penguins fans who feel scorned by the two stars for not choosing to play for their favorite team, but when a player turns down opportunities to join successful clubs like Detroit and Pittsburgh, one has to ask questions like, "Was Minnesota truly a poor decision by Suter and Parise?" "Are their futures really as bleak as some people seem to believe?" and when you ask questions, you get answers. The answer here is one word: no. Although they finished 12th in the Western Conference last season, the Wild boast one of the deepest farm systems in pro hockey. By locking up Parise and Suter long-term, they don't exactly become immediate Cup favorites, but they could be an elite team in a few years.
 Minnesota already has premiere talent with the big club. You ever hear of guys called Mikko Koivu and Devin Setogutchi? Yeah, they're kind of a big deal, especially the former. Adding Parise and Suter only boosts their overall skill and talent. Don't forget they have reliable goaltending, too, with the likes of starter Nicklas Backstrom and back-up Josh Harding (who many people though would test free agency this summer because of his capabilites, but he chose to re-up in Minnesota, instead.) They already have that going for them, but Minnesota's true beauty lies with their system. The Wild have amassed one of the top groups of forward prospects over the past few years with players like Zack Phillips, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, and, of course, the super-hyped Mikael Granlund. Defensively, the Wild have Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Jared Spurgeon, an extremely promising young D-man who spent a lot of time with the big club the past two seasons. One also cannot forget Mathew Dumba, the Wild's 7th overall selection at the 2012 Draft. Dumba, if all goes as planned with his development, will become an impact player on the blueline in the NHL. Can you imagine a defense pairing of Ryan Suter and Matt Dumba one day!? It could be something special.
 It may take 3-5 years for this complete roster of solid corps of prospects to be consistently efficient at the NHL level, but when that time comes, look out for the Minnesota Wild, ladies and gentlemen. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter may have passed on a chance to play on a more established franchise like Detroit, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Philadelphia, or any of the other big time players who were said to be in the hunt for their services, but now that these stars have taken their talents to the State of Hockey, Minnesota might just become the team of the future.
Other notes:

• Give major props to Minnesota's general manager, Chuck Fletcher, for pulling these signings off. All free agent talk surrounding July 1st had Minnesota as the oh-by-the-way team in the Parise and Suter sweepstakes, lost among big-time clubs. Not only was Fletch able to nab one of these stars, he got both of them. Impressive stuff, no doubt.
• Notice I did not include sniper Dany Heatley when mentioning the Wild's current stars. Heatley's production is on the decline, and his contract runs up in 2014. There is no guarantee that he will still be in a Minnesota uniform when all of the team's best prospects are NHL caliber performers. If he were to re-sign with Wild, it would have to be at a discounted price, because his current $7.5 million cap-hit could prove to be overwhelming in the future considering he just does not score like he used to. If he could take the salary reduction and stayed in Minnesota, he could be a part of something special, but Heatley's ego is unpredictable and could effect where he is playing when the rest of the team is at it's best.

Curtosey of wild.nhl.com.