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Minnesota Wild Getting Cold Feet on Marco Rossi Trade?
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- Minnesota Wild Getting Cold Feet on Marco Rossi Trade?
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The Minnesota Wild and their president of hockey operations, Bill Guerin, have been shopping 23-year-old center Marco Rossi on the trade market, not for months, but years . For multiple offseasons now, Guerin has been actively taking offers on the 2020 No. 9 overall pick.
But coming off of a postseason in which Rossi averaged just over 11 minutes of TOI per game, and with his restricted free agency looming on July 1, it appeared both sides were much more motivated to find a trade partner for Marco so everyone could move on from this fractured relationship .
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By the way top insiders like Michael Russo (The Athletic) have been talking for the last six months, a Marco Rossi trade sometime before the end of this month was just a matter of when, not if. That was until the 2025 NHL offseason dominos started falling.
Minnesota Wild already running out of center targets this offseason
According to a new report out of The Athletic , Bill Guerin came into June with veteran Minnesotan, Brock Nelson, as the Minnesota Wild's plan A target. But then, he signed with Colorado, foiling the triumphant hometown return Billy had been hoping for.
Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
From there, plan B, C and D fell through, as well. And now, a Wild team that has struck out in their swings for center help are pretty much out of high-end options. Meanwhile, that young, 60-point centerman they've been trying to kick out the door… still remains on roster, waiting for what's next.
The problem is, the options for upgrading may not be there for the taking. And that could change the calculus for how they handle Marco Rossi. Brock Nelson re-signing with the Colorado Avalanche and a dwindling market of sellers puts the Wild in a tough spot when it comes to both dealing Rossi and upgrading at the center position.
Nelson was believed to be Minnesota's top target…John Tavares would much rather stay in Toronto if it can work out. Jonathan Toews, 37 and trying to mount a career comeback, is considering three to four teams…Matt Duchene said he loved playing for John Hynes in Nashville, but he wants to return to Dallas and we're not sure Duchene is someone the Wild have interest in .
Russo and his colleague at The Athletic, Joe Smith , go on to write about why other rumored options for the Wild — like Sam Bennett (Panthers), Claude Giroux (Senators) and Jeff Skinner (Oilers) probably aren't the answer in Minnesota, either.
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Bill Guerin getting cold feet on trading away Marco Rossi?
And that leaves Marco Rossi, who it appears Guerin and the Minnesota Wild may be backtracking on their stubborn determination to trade their young Austrian and former 1st round draft pick .
With the free agency cupboards looking bare up the middle, trading away Rossi for anything other than a top 6 center could end up making the Minnesota Wild worse, something Billy has publicly said he is sensitive to.
…since trading Rossi would lead to a removal of at least a 20-goal, 60-point scorer, Guerin's words probably mean he wants a solid player back for Rossi, not futures.
And there's the potential problem. League-wide, there are a lot of teams that seem to want to add this offseason but not subtract. And with the cap rising, several teams have the ability to do just that — which may put the Wild in a pickle.
Related: Bill Guerin Wants Some "F*** You" in Marco Rossi's Game
For whatever reason, Marco Rossi has never fully managed to work his way out of Billy's doghouse, even after he put up 24 goals and 36 assists in the 2024-25 regular season . His 60 points were good for second-most on the team, behind only Matt Boldy.
MARCO ROSSI TIES IT WITH 43 SECONDS TO PLAY AND AN EMPTY NET 🫨 pic.twitter.com/5AG7mYLac4
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 11, 2024
The Minnesota Wild's impatience and apparent disdain for Marco Rossi has never really made sense, either. At first, we thought he might be soft or difficult to coach. Even early on, however, those questions were not backed up by any evidence.
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Then, Rossi doubled down on his commitment to the Wild by making the Twin Cities his summer home, choosing training and development under Geurin's supervision, over traveling home AND playing for the Austrian national team. Still, it never really mattered .
Marco Rossi could stay with Minnesota Wild after all…
But now, we are getting into RFA crunch time negotiations and it appears a deal for Marco Rossi nowhere in sight. According to this latest report, that if something doesn't land in the Minnesota Wild's lap here in the next couple weeks, a Rossi extension could very well be back on the table.
If Guerin doesn't get what he wants for Rossi, would he ever circle back and offer Rossi a two- or three-year deal at a high AAV north of $5.5 million or $6 million, similar to what the Carolina Hurricanes did with Martin Necas last summer?
No doubt Guerin is kicking tires and is motivated to make trades sooner rather than later. But some teams may not get serious until closer to the draft later this month. And the Wild would probably want a resolution before July 1, when Rossi is eligible to sign an offer sheet elsewhere.
I wouldn't hate a Marco Rossi return, especially given the chip you'd expect to be on his shoulder. But it would be so Minnesota Wild for these trade negotiations to fall through and for Guerin to be forced into bringing him back.
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Could Rossi be the new Matt Dumba, who entering every offseason for a half-decade, we were all convinced would be traded… just to see him back at training camp the next fall. Apparently, we could very well be heading in that direction.
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