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If memory serves it took Boldy until his 3rd playoffs to perform. I don't get the Rossi can't play in the playoffs premature especulation.

If I were Guerin I'd think long and hard about a 7 x 7 range. In as little as a year that could be considered a bargain with the cap expected to increase at a high rate.

It was all to devalue him so they could resign him cheap. He still performed admirably, being tied to two oafs.

This undersized is such a myth . Rossi will have 200lb soon and is very strong with his legs and lower body. And if someone is 5.9 or 6.1 makes not much difference if the player does have the same weight

I have been wondering why they didn't move Hartman to wing on the 2nd line and put Rossi up there in the middle. Hartman's versatility is part of his value. A Foligno-Rossi-Hartman line would be solid defensively, would be able to play physically (in spite of Rossi) and add solid scoring. And you can keep the Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov line together.

Danielson might become a really good player but Billy has been pretty clear that he isn’t doing a trade that will make the team worse this year. Trading for a prospect with zero nhl experience for Rossi probably won’t happen.

I’ve posted this before but maybe you didn’t see it.. “He is in the 75th percentile for top skating speed and the 89th percentile for skating distance. The Austrian native is only 23 and is already faster than 80% of the league. Along with his skating, he excels in taking accurate shots. He's in the 86th percentile for shooting % and is in the 85th percentile for goals scored.” -Jordan Manny Preds line

There is something else at play and it is the Guerin factor. Guerin let it be known that he would match whatever offer sheet Rossi got. Any teams considering it immediately backed away because there is no point. Guerin has the cap space to match so why would another team waste their time. It was a smart but cutthroat move on Guerin's part. Rossi was hoping to leverage an offer sheet and Guerin made it pointless for anyone to do so. The amount of money it would take for Guerin to start second guessing is more than people want to pay for a guy that played forth line minutes in playoffs (whether it was deserved or not.) I foresee Rossi needing to cave to the 5X5 offered and giving Guerin the middle finger once he hits UFA unless Guerin pays big. Guerin's plan works in the short term but if Rossi develops into something better or even stays consistent, he's going to have no taste for a team friendly deal.

Offer sheets can happen at any time starting on July 1st at noon. The last three were in August, but the 7 before that were in July, with most of them being in the first ten days. But my point is, other good players have not signed offer sheets either.

Yeah, because Zuccarello centering Brazeau/Trenin sounds like a wet dream...

You are not wrong. His stat value puts him in that $7M range. BG definitely has him over a barrel. But there is something else at play here. Rossi has not received a single offer sheet. Just a total guess here... but I think it's because at $7M you expect a player in that range to stand out. Rossi does not. He does a lot of little things really well and he is well disciplined at both ends of the ice. But rarely does he make a play where you look and think "WOW"... GMs want that before they cut that kind of paycheck. I could be way off here.... only the GMs truly know what is turning them off to Rossi... I just don't buy into it that it is purely a size thing. There is a business side of this game that is hard nosed. You can't let off ice issues run your career. That's a quick way to find yourself out of the game completely. If Rossi signs lower than he wants... he should let his internal spirit/drive prove everyone wrong and play like a $9M dollar player. Then let the cards fall where they may.

I think he'll want to get to UFA status. 4x$6 to 6.5M is my prediction.

If that's really the case, Guerin needed to be fired yesterday.

Not a question of whether Rossi can be an effective NHLer. He already is... the question is what value he brings. I've read comments and articles from $4.5M to $7.5M a year. Personally I think he comes in at 3 years for $5.5M/year. It's a good contract and a lot of money. It also sets him up for a big contract during his prime years if he continues to show improvement.

Truth. If only he was an inch or two taller, all of this unnecessary drama wouldn't exist. I also wonder if Billy holds a grudge after Rossi's issues with covid, thinks he's weak. Which would be really sad, but it wouldn't surprise me.