Article: Marco Rossi Trade Rumors Too Loud To Ignore

[Thomas Williams]

View full article

[mnfaninnc]

Sadly, the Canes series is on TBS, and the Stars series is on ESPN+. I was hoping for the other way around. Still, I believe FL is headed back to the finals.

I don't hate the Bleacher Report article, though the compensation seems to be a bit off. Nobody wants the 15th pick in this year's draft. I'm sure the Wild might like more bullets in the '26 draft, though. Rossi=player+'26 1st? Maybe, depending on the player. What do people think about Kirby Dach? He's got the size and should be a good player in a structured style. Can he win faceoffs? He's large, can he fill a 3rd line C spot? 2nd line? Dach+1st?  

I could see Guerin biting on that. 

Yikes, Kirby Dach was a -29 for the Canadiens, and even though he's young, he's shown that he doesn't go through seasons healthy. I thought he had some pretty good hands and good passing, but it has yet to show up on his stat line.

He's from the Boldy draft, and is only 24. Using absolutely no logic, I think the state could use another Kirby.

[Will D. Ness]

If we are going to trade Rossi, it can't be for picks and a prospect.  We need a replacement who is going to help the team in 25-26.

[mnfaninnc]

46 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

If we are going to trade Rossi, it can't be for picks and a prospect.  We need a replacement who is going to help the team in 25-26

I think the prospect matters. For instance, I'd be ok with grabbing Nate Danielson from Detroit, or Calum Ritchie from NYI along with a '26 1st. Kirby Dach might be the type of center that Guerin wants for the playoffs, 6'4" 221 and an RHS. Maybe he's the answer for the Ovechkin office? Certainly, he helps out Ek. Maybe Dach needs to be in a structured system to get the most out of him, though his injury history bothers me.

The Vancouver possibility is a no go, as is the Pittsburgh one. I also bet NYR is back in the playoffs next season. 

 

[mnfaninnc]

Does Guerin have a trade buffer guy, a guy who can put a deal together and Guerin can sign off on it?

Say, for instance, we get in offers for Rossi. Is there a guy who can accumulate several offers, think outside of the box and put complexity in the deal, and take them to Guerin to sign off? 

That would be hugely beneficial, I would think, if Guerin has a tendency to get too emotional and can't think more than 1 for 1.

[Dean]

I think the return for Rossi needs to be what Billy paid for jiricek . A top 6 center is as valuable as a top 4 right shot d imo . Rossi for Dach and a late 1st is a joke imo . Dach isn’t that good or is he consistent in his play..  my guess is Billy over paid for jiricek and will get under paid for Rossi . Then he’ll go into free agency an over pay the oldest washed up center and give him a nmc. So where right back where we started with Zach and Ryan contracts. 
   What Billy does this summer will tell everyone if Billy knows what he’s doing with trades and contracts. He over pays his friends/other GMs and gives assets away to his friends /other GMs. What he doesn’t do is look out for the best interest of the wild an its fans. Freddy g at 2 nd line center tells you everything about Billy’s hockey mind! 

[Will D. Ness]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Kirby Dach might be the type of center that Guerin wants for the playoffs, 6'4" 221 and an RHS. Maybe he's the answer for the Ovechkin office? Certainly, he helps out Ek. Maybe Dach needs to be in a structured system to get the most out of him, though his injury history bothers me.

I like the size, but Chicago passed way early and if Montreal passes now then we are sloppy thirds.  We can do better.

[0 Stanley Cups]

16 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

I like the size, but Chicago passed way early and if Montreal passes now then we are sloppy thirds.  We can do better.

That's the inherent risk of letting a center like Rossi go, that BG has to finally address. No other team is parting with a surefire 1C, so hopefully they have established a trade target, such as Dach, before they have a breakout season, otherwise the price goes way up. 

If the Wild can't draft/develop their own centers, you're always going to overpay.  Not many of these other young centers have excelled in the AHL the way Rossi did.

[mnfaninnc]

4 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

We can do better.

I agree that we can do better. I don't think the draft pick would be the 2025 pick, I think it would be the '26 1st. I'm not sure how late it would be. But, a 6'4" 221 RHS center might send tingles up Guerin's spine.

[MacGyver]

Even though it hasn't been said I think Rossi was playing injured the last part of the season and in the playoffs after he took that puck to the knee. He just wasn't the same after that. But as I have said he is gone. Rossi, Buium and Yurov are all within an couple inches of height and a few pounds. All I hear is size and grit and we keep bringing in the same size guys. They all had their tires pumped to over inflation and the super hype laid on them by the front office. Rossi is the only one to put skates on NHL ice and put up 60. The other two are still putting on their acne cream in the morning and only Buium has had a small size cup of coffee on the ice. Yurov has never touched the X ice. 

All these guys get over hyped. That's why when they put up 60 in their third year no one is impressed. One of the two Buium or Yurov or perhaps both are not going to live up to the hype heaped on them. They are not going to be the next coming of Gretzky every night they step on the ice. They are going to disappear for stretches maybe not show up in the playoffs the way they are expected. Then it starts all over, they are just too small, they fall down, Zeev never bulked up, Yurov can carry a dozen eggs in his breezers all game and never break one, they just aren't built for the playoffs!!  NEXT!!

[mnfaninnc]

I'm warming up to the idea of Brock Nelson signing here, but I'm very much in favor of a team friendly deal. For instance 3 x $7.4m is not a team friendly deal. 3 x $5m probably is and should garner trade protection. 

We would be purchasing his 34-36 years, but that doesn't bother me so much. I think he'll lose a little bit of speed, but his size allows him to still compete.

The thing that most interests me is him playing almost his full career in a structured system which probably fits his style best. Now, I'm not saying that we have to trade out Rossi to get this done, in fact, carrying a lot of centers is probably the best option to go in. Centers can play wing much more than wings can play center. That's what makes Hartman a bit weird. 

Let's just say we land both Brocks. Who else gets traded out? We've got to have 5 spaces for the kids: The Wall, Buium, Yurov, OgZ, Jiricek. If we're keeping Spurgeon another year, I think he and Buium would make a very intriguing pair. I like Jiricek and Brodin as a pair leaving Midsy and Faber as the top pairing. I think you could roll all 3 pairings for about 20 minutes a game and be good. 

What do we do with Chisholm then? I feel like just letting him walk is a bad plan. Can we carry him as a #8? Will Bogosian want out as he probably only has a limited amount of everyday play left in him? Would using Chisholm as the #7 and calling up Spacek for an RHS defender injury work out? I think it would. 

So, what could I see working at forward? I think the Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov line is a keeper. I'd love to see what a combination of OgZ, Yurov, and Rossi could do together, but I'm not sure that's a 2nd line. I think a Boeser-Nelson-Foligno line might could work and produce some secondary scoring. Boeser and OgZ could shuffle on that. That leaves a Hartman-Trenin-Hinnestroza-Zuccarello-Gaudreau tandem left. That's a lot of salary to have left and 1 guy with an NMC. 

The influx of Nelson and Boeser in what would have to be team friendly deals are probably the best free agent options we will have. Boeser and Nelson add about 50 goals together in production. We would have 2 functioning PP units this way. We would probably be better on the PK. There's no room for Breezers, Nyquist or Johansson. Trenin and Hartman proved to be playoff performers. I think you've got to find new homes for Zuccy and Gaudreau. If there's no home for Gaudreau, just bury half the salary in Iowa and task him with training the young guys. Zuccy's the problem here. Where could Zuccy be happy? 

[OldDutchChip]

43 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'm warming up to the idea of Brock Nelson signing here, but I'm very much in favor of a team friendly deal. For instance 3 x $7.4m is not a team friendly deal. 3 x $5m probably is and should garner trade protection. 

We would be purchasing his 34-36 years, but that doesn't bother me so much. I think he'll lose a little bit of speed, but his size allows him to still compete.

The thing that most interests me is him playing almost his full career in a structured system which probably fits his style best. Now, I'm not saying that we have to trade out Rossi to get this done, in fact, carrying a lot of centers is probably the best option to go in. Centers can play wing much more than wings can play center. That's what makes Hartman a bit weird. 

Let's just say we land both Brocks. Who else gets traded out? We've got to have 5 spaces for the kids: The Wall, Buium, Yurov, OgZ, Jiricek. If we're keeping Spurgeon another year, I think he and Buium would make a very intriguing pair. I like Jiricek and Brodin as a pair leaving Midsy and Faber as the top pairing. I think you could roll all 3 pairings for about 20 minutes a game and be good. 

What do we do with Chisholm then? I feel like just letting him walk is a bad plan. Can we carry him as a #8? Will Bogosian want out as he probably only has a limited amount of everyday play left in him? Would using Chisholm as the #7 and calling up Spacek for an RHS defender injury work out? I think it would. 

So, what could I see working at forward? I think the Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov line is a keeper. I'd love to see what a combination of OgZ, Yurov, and Rossi could do together, but I'm not sure that's a 2nd line. I think a Boeser-Nelson-Foligno line might could work and produce some secondary scoring. Boeser and OgZ could shuffle on that. That leaves a Hartman-Trenin-Hinnestroza-Zuccarello-Gaudreau tandem left. That's a lot of salary to have left and 1 guy with an NMC. 

The influx of Nelson and Boeser in what would have to be team friendly deals are probably the best free agent options we will have. Boeser and Nelson add about 50 goals together in production. We would have 2 functioning PP units this way. We would probably be better on the PK. There's no room for Breezers, Nyquist or Johansson. Trenin and Hartman proved to be playoff performers. I think you've got to find new homes for Zuccy and Gaudreau. If there's no home for Gaudreau, just bury half the salary in Iowa and task him with training the young guys. Zuccy's the problem here. Where could Zuccy be happy? 

you think boeser or nelson or rossi will all join up at 5 per? might as well add marner at 5 too! 🙂

 

Edited May 21 by OldDutchChip

[IllicitFive]

17 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'm warming up to the idea of Brock Nelson signing here, but I'm very much in favor of a team friendly deal. For instance 3 x $7.4m is not a team friendly deal. 3 x $5m probably is and should garner trade protection. 

We would be purchasing his 34-36 years, but that doesn't bother me so much. I think he'll lose a little bit of speed, but his size allows him to still compete.

The thing that most interests me is him playing almost his full career in a structured system which probably fits his style best. Now, I'm not saying that we have to trade out Rossi to get this done, in fact, carrying a lot of centers is probably the best option to go in. Centers can play wing much more than wings can play center. That's what makes Hartman a bit weird. 

Let's just say we land both Brocks. Who else gets traded out? We've got to have 5 spaces for the kids: The Wall, Buium, Yurov, OgZ, Jiricek. If we're keeping Spurgeon another year, I think he and Buium would make a very intriguing pair. I like Jiricek and Brodin as a pair leaving Midsy and Faber as the top pairing. I think you could roll all 3 pairings for about 20 minutes a game and be good. 

What do we do with Chisholm then? I feel like just letting him walk is a bad plan. Can we carry him as a #8? Will Bogosian want out as he probably only has a limited amount of everyday play left in him? Would using Chisholm as the #7 and calling up Spacek for an RHS defender injury work out? I think it would. 

So, what could I see working at forward? I think the Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov line is a keeper. I'd love to see what a combination of OgZ, Yurov, and Rossi could do together, but I'm not sure that's a 2nd line. I think a Boeser-Nelson-Foligno line might could work and produce some secondary scoring. Boeser and OgZ could shuffle on that. That leaves a Hartman-Trenin-Hinnestroza-Zuccarello-Gaudreau tandem left. That's a lot of salary to have left and 1 guy with an NMC. 

The influx of Nelson and Boeser in what would have to be team friendly deals are probably the best free agent options we will have. Boeser and Nelson add about 50 goals together in production. We would have 2 functioning PP units this way. We would probably be better on the PK. There's no room for Breezers, Nyquist or Johansson. Trenin and Hartman proved to be playoff performers. I think you've got to find new homes for Zuccy and Gaudreau. If there's no home for Gaudreau, just bury half the salary in Iowa and task him with training the young guys. Zuccy's the problem here. Where could Zuccy be happy? 

I for one appreciate this post. We keep talking about moving guys making 2 mil, or not resigning certain guys. If the wild want to shake things up and give themselves some new options, guys like Spurge and Zucc need to be possibly sent away. I get that is Kaps friend, but, his production has been declining year over year, age is going up and injury risk may be a concern, nut shot not withstanding. The biggest thing would be getting people signed for "both sides semi unhappy" type deals. 

As far as Chisholm, I think he has played himself out of a job, too many big mistakes. Might need to pick up a 3rd/injury insurance RHD on the cheap. I worry about the loss of confidence in Chisholm. Overall, if the wild want to start making noise in the playoffs a shake up is needed. In order to shake it up some tough cuts or trades will need to be made and based on the NMC/NTC clauses the list is limited.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

you think boeser or nelson or rossi will all join up at 5 per? might as well add marner at 5 too! 🙂

I think Boeser is probably higher. Rossi doesn't have much leverage, you could probably just offer him his qualifying offer, he can only get offersheeted, he has no arbitration rights yet. It would only be for 1 year, and I doubt he'd be terribly motivated, but he could also bet on himself that maybe next year there's a decent contract waiting for him?

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think Boeser is probably higher. Rossi doesn't have much leverage, you could probably just offer him his qualifying offer, he can only get offersheeted, he has no arbitration rights yet. It would only be for 1 year, and I doubt he'd be terribly motivated, but he could also bet on himself that maybe next year there's a decent contract waiting for him?

maybe Rossi goes back to play for Austrian team instead 🤔

[WildNotMild]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think Boeser is probably higher. Rossi doesn't have much leverage, you could probably just offer him his qualifying offer, he can only get offersheeted, he has no arbitration rights yet. It would only be for 1 year, and I doubt he'd be terribly motivated, but he could also bet on himself that maybe next year there's a decent contract waiting for him?

There are many reports that Nelson turned down 7.5M for 3 years.  Also, that Boeser turned down an 8x8.  I think Nelson’s play would fit fine with the Wild.  I worry about his term, money and clauses being bad for the Wild.  Boeser doesn’t play both ways and I think he would be an overall liability especially as the years go by.  A guy who doesn’t play defense and just likes to score isn’t going to age well.

If the Wild really want to be competitive, then a combination of Foligno, Gaudreau, Hartman and Trenin should make up the 4th line with the other being traded and/or possibly playing on the 3rd line (Foligno or Hartman.

I agree and have previously suggested moving Zuccy.  If that happens and Rossi is gone (likely) that leaves 3 top 9 spots to fill.

[MacGyver]

3 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

maybe Rossi goes back to play for Austrian team instead 🤔

I actually had the same thought. I think the Rossi/Billy relationship is that broken. Rossi can and may flat out request a trade or just sit the year out which would be disastrous for both him and the Wild.  The Wild have made it clear they don't want him here because they have shiny new toys coming who they are absolutely certain are going to be better than little Marco. 

[mnfaninnc]

I don't see Rossi sitting out a year, he would have to be traded. I would recommend not going public with the trade request, though. Wild would still have his rights until he's 27. 

I'm not convinced it's that broken, but I haven't been in the fire since the season ended. 

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

I actually had the same thought. I think the Rossi/Billy relationship is that broken. Rossi can and may flat out request a trade or just sit the year out which would be disastrous for both him and the Wild.  The Wild have made it clear they don't want him here because they have shiny new toys coming who they are absolutely certain are going to be better than little Marco. 

yeap tough one and this creates a distraction that this team does NOT need. focus on Kap. bill likely had some conversations with kap and other leaders on what direction they want to go and bill likely listens to them. they are all vets. i say rossi is gone and that means bill, hynes and all three captains wanted him gone. we shall see......

[MacGyver]

10 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

yeap tough one and this creates a distraction that this team does NOT need. focus on Kap. bill likely had some conversations with kap and other leaders on what direction they want to go and bill likely listens to them. they are all vets. i say rossi is gone and that means bill, hynes and all three captains wanted him gone. we shall see......

You could be right and I think it's already a distraction. I don't think Rossi can even develop into the player he can be here because the air is too thick for him in this organization. He's not going to get the ice time he deserves because when Billy don't like you that's what happens. So for Rossi's sake I hope he lands somewhere where he gets the chance to show what he can really do. Speaking of, a couple Wild players we didn't see value in are having themselves a pretty good playoff run in Dallas. Grandlund and Steel are both tearing it up. I don't think you can count either of these guys among the gritty bruisers of the league. 

It's not always the players that's the problem. 

Oh, I do not hope Billy is asking Kaprizov, Spurgeon or any other player input on who stays or who goes on this team.  You want to create a toxic locker room give players the say so on who stays or especially goes. I'd be surprised players would even want to have that conversation with management. I can see asking a player who has played with a player they are thinking of bringing in but beyond that I hope they are not going to Kaprizov and asking should we get rid of Marco? If that's the case get rid of Billy and make Kaprizov your star player, GM, President of hockey operations, draft guru and cap analyst.  

Edited May 22 by MacGyver

[OldDutchChip]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

You could be right and I think it's already a distraction. I don't think Rossi can even develop into the player he can be here because the air is too thick for him in this organization. He's not going to get the ice time he deserves because when Billy don't like you that's what happens. So for Rossi's sake I hope he lands somewhere where he gets the chance to show what he can really do. Speaking of, a couple Wild players we didn't see value in are having themselves a pretty good playoff run in Dallas. Grandlund and Steel are both tearing it up. I don't think you can count either of these guys among the gritty bruisers of the league. 

It's not always the players that's the problem. 

Oh, I do not hope Billy is asking Kaprizov, Spurgeon or any other player input on who stays or who goes on this team.  You want to create a toxic locker room give players the say so on who stays or especially goes. I'd be surprised players would even want to have that conversation with management. I can see asking a player who has played with a player they are thinking of bringing in but beyond that I hope they are not going to Kaprizov and asking should we get rid of Marco? If that's the case get rid of Billy and make Kaprizov your star player, GM, President of hockey operations, draft guru and cap analyst.  

Yeah you right, but I was thinking during exit meetings or planning out the future… you usually discuss this with leaders (Kap, Spurge, Foli) so perhaps player performance was discussed, who knows 🤔 or maybe it’s a hockey taboo 

 

[MacGyver]

2 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

Yeah you right, but I was thinking during exit meetings or planning out the future… you usually discuss this with leaders (Kap, Spurge, Foli) so perhaps player performance was discussed, who knows 🤔 or maybe it’s a hockey taboo 

 

It would be interesting to know what is actually discussed and not discussed between management and players. I don't know for sure I'm just going by what seems to me to be common sense. It probably varies from team to team.  I remember when the Penguins traded Guetzel how pissed Crosby was when he found out which was after the trade was a done deal. He clearly was not asked what he felt about it. And when Zuccarello was traded from the Rangers and Lundqvist was all emotional about it. They clearly didn't ask Henrik because he would have said if you do that I'm going to cry! 😭

[Mateo3xm]

On 5/20/2025 at 11:59 AM, mnfaninnc said:

I think the prospect matters. For instance, I'd be ok with grabbing Nate Danielson from Detroit, or Calum Ritchie from NYI along with a '26 1st. Kirby Dach might be the type of center that Guerin wants for the playoffs, 6'4" 221 and an RHS. Maybe he's the answer for the Ovechkin office? Certainly, he helps out Ek. Maybe Dach needs to be in a structured system to get the most out of him, though his injury history bothers me.

The Vancouver possibility is a no go, as is the Pittsburgh one. I also bet NYR is back in the playoffs next season. 

 

We could have had Calum Ritchie instead of Stramel in that draft. Ritchie seems like a better prospect but we will see in time.

[mnfaninnc]

16 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

We could have had Calum Ritchie instead of Stramel in that draft. Ritchie seems like a better prospect but we will see in time.

That was my target after Moore dropped at 20. The only issue with Ritchie is he has a pretty long injury sheet, and I think that dropped him on some boards. I agree with you on liking that guy, and if we were trading Rossi, Ritchie + would be what I'd ask from NYI.