Wild wanted Zach Parise and Ryan Suter gone

The Wild dumped Zach Parise and Ryan Suter so two other players could be protected in the expansion draft? True.

The Wild dumped the former franchise players because the team wanted to clear salary cap space for the upcoming season? Sure.

The Wild cut two players with four years remaining on their contracts because the players’ performances had declined? OK.

Wild General Manager Bill Guerin wants to build a team led by the players he most values, and not those with the longest contracts? Sounds about right.

Guerin admitted or hinted at all of the above on Tuesday afternoon. He even praised Suter and Parise for their contributions. But let’s not make this the State of Hokey.

For the Wild to make this move, to ditch two still-valuable players while the team’s stated intention is to win as much and as soon as possible, team management really got sick of these guys.

Guerin probably offered to pack their bags, then drive them over the state line. Any state line. Even Alaska’s.

Yes, Guerin thanking Parise and Suter was justified. As bad as their contracts look at the moment, let’s remember that the Wild was going nowhere or worse before the two signed, and they elevated the Wild to relevance, the playoffs, a couple of playoff victories and a lot of ticket and suite sales.

At their best, Parise was an inspirational player and Suter was an indefatigable force. There’s no need to pretend the Wild made a colossal mistake on July 4, 2012. We all knew there would come a time when the contracts would become onerous. We just didn’t know that by the end Parise and Suter would have team management wanting to shoot them directly into the sun.

What happened with Parise and Suter is commonplace in professional team sports.

When they performed like stars, the Diva Duo was tolerated.

When they declined, they became competing migraine headaches.

Remember when the Vikings traded Randy Moss in his prime? That wasn’t a football decision. The Vikings believed they couldn’t function as an organization with Moss around. They were never going to win that trade in terms of personnel. They just wanted to be able to get through a meeting or two.

What happened on Tuesday in St. Paul is similar. Guerin damaged his roster while believing that his team, nevertheless, will be better without Parise, who was one of the Wild’s best players in this year’s playoffs, and Suter, who was one of the team’s best players from the day he arrived until the last game of the Vegas series.

We knew from the team’s handling of Parise last season that he might be out. The surprise is the departure of Suter. Even solid play, remarkable durability and kissing up to owner Craig Leipold couldn’t save him.

Let this be a lesson to all those ambitious young hockey players in Minnesota: Your career will last longer if you’re good in the room.

In their first few years with the Wild, Parise was known for asking for the team to practice in Minneapolis, closer to his home, which drove the coaching staff crazy, and Suter was known for lobbying Leipold, a move that would backfire in any company.

Former Wild coach Bruce Boudreau would roll his eyes and mutter when reporters relayed Parise’s latest complaint.

What Guerin did Tuesday was remove the two primary obstacles to locker room harmony. The players on your team don’t have to all love each other, but they can’t be worried about someone running to the owner to complain about playing time.

“There was no one big reason,” Guerin said. “It was pretty much everything together as a whole.”

Guerin remained diplomatic throughout his news conference. He would gain nothing from complaining publicly about players after releasing them. Sometimes, you have to listen to what is not said.

Guerin praised their “contributions” and their careers.

He never praised their character or leadership.

He never said he would miss them.

Guerin was known as a terrific NHL teammate.

He knows one when he doesn’t see one.