Article: Marco Rossi Is Still Looking For the Benefit Of the Doubt

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

You should bet on Rossi, because he's done all this with a fraction of the PP time Ek and Boldy, and Zucc get.  He's going to have up and down games, but so have those above players.  All but one player in the top-6 has been a PP or close player, so I'd love to know what more tough love Rossi needs before it gets tiresome and vers into comedy.

[OldDutchChip]

Rossi's game is not as diverse as others (see how Harty can be plugged in anywhere and succeed?), so he is bound to be back on Kap's line to hide his deficiencies. I suppose you can swap him and Ek, but Ek and Boldy are solid together (although Ek may be hurt a bit - something seems off) so i'd leave Ek and Boldy as is. Otherwise he just does not belong anywhere else on the ice now. They'll put him back on line 1, get him points with likely the second best player in the league right now (playing) and ship him out for an upgrade. that's how i see it. Bring back Tuch at deadline, as Sabres will be out of it by then. good plan. 

[Citizen Strife]

Also, this isn't just Kap helping people play better.  Hynes wanted balance and everyone but Mojo is showing it.  Rossi also scored a goal against an otherwise killer Florida team and the lone assist against the Jets.  He's doing his job against harder teams too.

[mnfaninnc]

I thought Rossi wasn't working well during the LA game, and he got demoted there a bit. During the Ducks game the flow wasn't that good either, but during the Blackhawks game, that was the whole team.

In the 2nd period, while nothing was going right, Heinzy got out his Oester and started the blending process. Everyone got shifted around trying to find something that worked, and the Boldy-Kaprizov-Zuccarello trio got us a goal. What was interesting is that it didn't seem like Heinzy shrank his bench, he just threw out line combinations that were different the whole time. Last season, he shrank his bench tremendously. 

Also, I wouldn't read too much into MaRat getting a "1st line" look, I think it was more of a 4th line placement and Heinzy double shifted Kaprizov and Zuccarello. If you look at the sequence, he was giving Kaprizov more minutes but was setting up Zuccarello-Hartman-Kaprizov. The strange thing was that Ek was off all game, and this rarely happens. I can't even remember the last time it happened. 

But for the team, the puck did them no favors as it looked like it was repelling them. Passes from everyone were in the skates, except a couple of defenders. It was a lot like how the LA game looked where nobody was in the right position and if they were, the puck zagged. Honestly, it looked like the team hadn't practiced in a long time and needed a couple. 

Hopefully that gets done this week.

[MNCountryLife]

Is it possible that Hynes is just shaking things up rather than demoting Rossi?  I thought several players coasted a bit too much for my liking during the Chicago game.  Knut seems to have a motor on him.  It could be they want to see how syncs with Kirill for a few shifts or with other guys rather than a demotion to others.  

[Enforceror]

If I recall correctly, Hynes mentioned in the CHI post-game that he wanted to get Marat more TOI as well as try to play people who had something going.

[Thatoneguy]

I have nothing against them moving rossi around to try and shake things up, but where I have a problem is when Nojo is stapled to the 2nd line no matter how much nothing he does. If anybody should be getting a demotion it should start with that slug. He has done absolutely nothing for weeks now. 

[mnhockeyfan03]

Rossi and Nojo will be gone at the deadline.  If they were smart spurgeon would be as well.  They are propping them up now to sell them off.  

[M_Nels]

16 minutes ago, mnhockeyfan03 said:

Rossi and Nojo will be gone at the deadline.  If they were smart spurgeon would be as well.  They are propping them up now to sell them off.  

Not matter how smart they are Spurgeon isn't going anywhere. Doubt Guerin would even entertain calls on him. What would you expect as a return for him anyway?

If you're so sure the other 2 are gone then maybe you can tell us what they're going to get back.

Edited 18 hours ago by M_Nels
Wording

[OldDutchChip]

23 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Not matter how smart they are Spurgeon isn't going anywhere. Doubt Guerin would even entertain calls on him. What would you expect as a return for him anyway?

If you're so sure the other 2 are gone then maybe you can tell us what they're going to get back.

i think MJ stays and he may have a role to play still that seems to be under the radar - and that is his PP ability. look during the playoffs, PK and PP have enormous implication, and sad to admit but MJ is the only one that you can count on to actually bring the puck into the zone consistently. he really is elite at that. seriously everyone else are not that good at it! maybe we can have him bring it up and immediately sub-out for someone HAHA what could go wrong?

[Citizen Strife]

Just looked this up again to be sure, but Rossi is tied for 28th in "Centers" (NHL stats site with said filter) with 13 points.  Wanna know who is 20?  Crosby at 16 points.  Top 10 guys are around 17-20...so the margin between bonafide top tier guys on $7-10m contracts and a vilified total trade bait passenger on an ELC is three goddamn points.

Sorry if I'm not sold on the "he's not good enough and must be traded" assertion.

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Citizen Strife

[mnhockeyfan03]

54 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Not matter how smart they are Spurgeon isn't going anywhere. Doubt Guerin would even entertain calls on him. What would you expect as a return for him anyway?

If you're so sure the other 2 are gone then maybe you can tell us what they're going to get back.

For spurgeon they are getting nothing back besides a late round pick.  It’s simply to free up 7.5mm we can use on 1 or 2 bigger RHD we desperately are going to need in the playoff.  Nojo will also be a salary dump.  Rossi you will package with a high round pick and good prospect to get a number 1C or top 6 winger that’s big and can score. No way Rossi is/should be getting 5-6mm next year so the player they trade him for can take that cap space.  Guerin needs to make some moves to make this team better.  

 

[mnhockeyfan03]

3 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Just looked this up again to be sure, but Rossi is tied for 28th in "Centers" (NHL stats site with said filter) with 13 points.  Wanna know who is 20?  Crosby at 16 points.  Top 10 guys are around 17-20...so the margin between bonafide top tier guys on $7-10m contracts and a vilified total trade bait passenger on an ELC is three goddamn points.

Sorry if I'm not sold on the "he's not good enough and must be traded" assertion.

 

Understand but the eye test says otherwise and he isn’t going to help us in April and May.  Billy knows this as well.  Same thing happens with spurgeon.  He is terrible in the playoffs

[Citizen Strife]

I prioritize a team winning enough regular season games to make the playoffs first...let's climb that fucking hurdle first.

[Burnt Toast]

6 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

ship him out for an upgrade.

I’ve got a feeling you might be right on this take. If a trade like that is made I hope it is for a young player (28) or younger. It would be best for a player that will still be making an impact in 2027. The year the Wild should be a top contender. 

[OldDutchChip]

3 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

Just looked this up again to be sure, but Rossi is tied for 28th in "Centers" (NHL stats site with said filter) with 13 points.  Wanna know who is 20?  Crosby at 16 points.  Top 10 guys are around 17-20...so the margin between bonafide top tier guys on $7-10m contracts and a vilified total trade bait passenger on an ELC is three goddamn points.

Sorry if I'm not sold on the "he's not good enough and must be traded" assertion.

 

he is not good enough and must be traded. that goes for both Rossi and Crosby.

[mnhockeyfan03]

4 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

I prioritize a team winning enough regular season games to make the playoffs first...let's climb that fucking hurdle first.

Typical MN sports fan.  Why don’t we for once actually build a team that has a chance in the playoffs and not just to get there.  We want to win the cup and sorry Rossi, Nojo, Spurgeon and a few others are not getting us there.  Don’t settle for mediocrity demand excellence.  

[Imyourhuckleberry]

5 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

MJ is the only one that you can count on to actually bring the puck into the zone consistently.

Sure, Johansson is good at skating the puck across the blue line and immediately turning it over to the other team. I'm not sure that brings a lot of value to the Wild, but it truly is a skill he possesses.

[mnhockeyfan03]

If you look at the Wilds record each year against the East and against the West they fair much better against the East because they are way less physical.  The West teams are bigger and stronger and come playoff time when the whistles go away that who we have to beat so we have to create a team that can win in those situations and having 4-5 guys on our team under 5’10 and 180 are not going to get it done.  We need 3 things in addition to Yurov coming over and Bium. We need a big top 6 RH forward to play ovechkins office on the PP.  Also need a top 1C to play with lap (Rossi is not that guy) and large RHD to play top 4 mins to take spurgeon’s spot

[Citizen Strife]

Typical my ass.  

The Wild have to actually make the playoffs to do anything.  Building for the playoffs was what Nashville tried to do by making a huge splash in free agency: tell me how that's worked for them so far?  Keep losing like they have, then fuck the "big bad playoff" plan.

Rossi is winning the team games, so forgive me for taking games as they come and not tripping over myself talking about games that haven't and may not happen yet.

Tell me again what team is 2nd in the division playing Rossi on the first line?  Oh yeah, the Wild.  It's working, and I'm pleased.  Call me typical or a doomer all you want: at least I know a winning team in the moment and can appreciate it.

 

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by Citizen Strife

[OldDutchChip]

10 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Sure, Johansson is good at skating the puck across the blue line and immediately turning it over to the other team. I'm not sure that brings a lot of value to the Wild, but it truly is a skill he possesses.

nah he is better than every one else at zone entry. i'd play him Kap zuccy boldy and Ek on PP1 and boot faber until he learns how to drag his fat ass up the ice faster to elude the D. 

[OldDutchChip]

10 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

Typical my ass.  

The Wild have to actually make the playoffs to do anything.  Building for the playoffs was what Nashville tried to do by making a huge splash in free agency: tell me how that's worked for them so far?  Keep losing like they have, then fuck the "big bad playoff" plan.

Rossi is winning the team games, so forgive me for taking games as they come and not tripping over myself talking about games that haven't and may not happen yet.

Tell me again what team is 2nd in the division playing Rossi on the first line?  Oh yeah, the Wild.  It's working, and I'm pleased.  Call me typical or a doomer all you want: at least I know a winning team in the moment and can appreciate it.

 

 

 

It's really up to the GM now who (unlike the fans) should look to the future and "smartly" plan for it. His future is Kap (1) and Playoffs (2). To ensure longevity and success of both our GM will likely be active at the trade deadline (this year). Tell me who he can sell high on 🤔 

The trade will happen - it's just a matter of who he'll give up to get who he needs to get - Rossi, Zeev, or Yurov. 

 

[Citizen Strife]

My main concern is why get rid of any of them?  Rossi gets you 2nd line scoring center or 3rd line C controlled mix of offense and defense at minimum, and you can just have Kap/Ek/Boldy wrecking things if you want to go that route.  There's nothing wrong with Rossi at 2C/3C getting 40-60 pts on a reasonable deal.  If Zeev is as good as people say he is, you have a potential game breaking offensive defenseman, or at worst, you have a 2nd two-way stud in Faber...fucking hell.  Either result would be nice.

Yurov is an unknown, just like Zeev is.  He could be anything from a 1C, 2W, or 2C.  Or, he can just shit the bed first time out like Ohgren did.  The idea to throw away a proven NHL quality player with some high end scoring potential because you "can't find room" or "can find someone better" is silly.  You know Rossi can hang in the NHL.  He and Faber were the only two guys last year who played all 82 games (if I remember right).  You don't know what another player on another team is going to do in our system, and you don't know if Zeev or Yurov just end up like Addison and Beckman.

Sure, signs point to Zeev and Yurov being top line guys.  Why sacrifice Rossi just because Hartman is a more versatile player?  So what if Rossi can only play C?  You get a high end offensive skillset that "may" flame out, but he's already done more at this level for this team than anyone he'd be traded for.  

If it turns out all three are as advertised, fuck free agency.  Fuck any other prospects.  Fuck the veterans.  The Wild got the new infusion of players they needed and you pay them to do what any high priced free agent can do.

Edited 1 hour ago by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

24 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

i'd play him Kap zuccy boldy and Ek on PP1 and boot faber until he learns how to drag his fat ass up the ice faster to elude the D. 

You want to remove one of the best skating players that plays strong defense with a good skating forward that has no defensive IQ? Sounds like you are wanting to make the Wild PP equal opportunity for the opposition to score.

That'd be an excellent way to hang the goalies out to dry for short handed goals.