By: Aj Mansour | KFAN.com
@AjMansourKFAN

St. Paul, MN - The Minnesota Wild hit the free agent jackpot Wednesday, signing both forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter in a joint deal. Parise and Suter both agreed to 13-year deals worth $98 million each that will likely keep them in Minnesota until the end of their careers.

Weeks after leading the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals, Parise chose to leave the financially strapped Devils and join a Wild team with much to offer over the next few years. Reports say that the Wild narrowly beat out the Pittsburgh Penguins for Parise's services. The Philadelphia Flyers also made Parise's short list heading out of the weekend.

Parise gives the Wild the top-notch goal scorer which they have desperately needed since Marion Gaborik left during the free agency of 2009. In 2011-2012, Parise tallied 31 goals and 69 points while serving as captain for New Jersey. The additions of Parise and rookie Mikael Granlund should drastically improve the Minnesota Wild front line that struggled to score goals as last season spiraled out of control.

Aj Mansour covers the Minnesota Sports for KFAN.com. Feel free to leave comments and questions on this post or others in the designated comment box below. For Wild updates and breaking Wild news, follow Aj on Twitter. @AjMansourKFAN.

*Photo - Bruce Bennett/Getty Images