Article: The Wild Shouldn't Offload Rossi To Clear A 2026 Cap Logjam

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Patrick said:

1) You realize every player in the NHL except the superstars go through slumps don't you?  Especially when their more talented linemates are injured.

2) 7x7 is very middle of the road for a 2nd line center in todays NHL.  Crazy to think but its absolutely true.

3) In the 22 games prior to KK returning.  Rossi had 11 points.  Hardly disappeared. Importantly,  Rossi, Boldy and Foligno were playing like one of the top lines in the NHL at that time.  Without Rossi the Wild don't make the playoffs. That's a fact.

The objective stats don't support anything you are saying.  Subjectively you can say he got knocked down a lot...but what does that mean?  If you are looking for something you will see it. 

Yeah, he isn't a star... yet, and he may never be a star but at this point in his career he is already a solid 2nd line center and he is only 23.  The year BG signed Boldy to his big contract Boldy had 63 points.  Nearly identical to Rossi this year. 

Go read some Rossi trade proposals from other teams perspectives and you will get a fresh appreciation for him.  BG and Russo have decided they don't like him for some reason.

1) Yes I do, and admitted it in the post

2) 7 x $7m may be middle of the road for a 2nd line C, and I have admittedly not done well with capflation. But, to me, points are not the end of the story. Boldy has always been a more complete player than Rossi has, and in my mind Rossi is not a solid 2nd line C yet. Far earlier, I had speculated that Rossi would get a longterm extension offer around the end of January if his 1st half of the year was good, which it was. I don't know if anything was proposed at that time, but I do know he didn't sign.

3) In the 22 games before Kaprizov came back, that is an average of .5 ppg. With Kaprizov being out, this wasn't even close to good enough. He needed to be producing at around 1 ppg. But, looking at those numbers, how many games did he end up with goose eggs? He had some multipoint games against trash teams. We needed a point a game from him. It didn't help that Boldy went cold too, and as I remember it, Rossi probably should have had a few more apples than he got.

But here comes the true point of the whole conversation: Objective stats. Just like analytics, objective stats have to suggest a narrative. The eye test then either confirms or denies the narrative. Earlier in the year, I thought Rossi was skating stronger and not getting knocked off pucks or to the ground. Later in the year, he looked worn down and was getting knocked to the ground. It wasn't subjective, it just was happening. In his column, though, he'd get right back up. 

This would suggest that his lower body still needs some strength improvement. He will struggle against larger players in the corners or along the boards, and I'll never expect him to deliver heavy bodychecks, but he still needs weight gain and strength to be that 2nd line C. He needs to be better at faceoffs, he needs to still work on his shot as it is average at best. 

I'm not a Rossi hater, and have a long history of not being in favor of trading him out due to size. I have no problem with his height. He's got really good vision, nice timing for skating through the slot and a lot of determination. The stuff he needs improvement in are fixable things. 

But, then again, if the conclusion is that he needs to be traded out, my hope is we get plenty for him to help us win now. I've read the Bleacher Report trade proposals, and a few made some sense. Which ones are you talking about? I wouldn't want anything from the '25 draft, but could see a 1st from a struggling team in the '26 draft. 

Honestly, I think the best possible scenario here is for Rossi to come back with an offersheet showing his market worth. If it's $12m x 7, then take the 4 1sts. If it's something like $6.5m x 5, there you go, just match it. If it's $7.5m x 5, you look at the team and project where they're going to be next season, compensation is not lottery protected. A high 1st, 2nd & 3rd round pick would be hard to pass on in '26. 

[Patrick]

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

But here comes the true point of the whole conversation: Objective stats. Just like analytics, objective stats have to suggest a narrative. The eye test then either confirms or denies the narrative.

Games are won and lost objectively.  At a point a game with defense in the top 25% of the NHL, Rossi is a 10 million a year center. 

Overall, i think your assessment is fair of his strengths and weakness's.  But I wouldn't let him getting pushed off pucks and getting knocked down overshadow what he accomplishes despite these things happening. 

Jordan Greenway could protect a puck down low like nobody's business and I don't think he ever got knocked over. But the narrative doesn't count on the scoresheet.

The narrative only helps to explain how those stats are achieved and how they might be improved. They don't subtract from the stats.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Patrick said:

Games are won and lost objectively.  At a point a game with defense in the top 25% of the NHL, Rossi is a 10 million a year center. 

Overall, i think your assessment is fair of his strengths and weakness's.  But I wouldn't let him getting pushed off pucks and getting knocked down overshadow what he accomplishes despite these things happening. 

Jordan Greenway could protect a puck down low like nobody's business and I don't think he ever got knocked over. But the narrative doesn't count on the scoresheet.

The narrative only helps to explain how those stats are achieved and how they might be improved. They don't subtract from the stats.

For the record, I'm not in favor of trading Rossi away. But I'll always play the what if game. Perhaps I'm just jaded by watching the Gretzky press conference when he was traded for bags of gold.