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  • The Marco Rossi Madness Has To End


    Image courtesy of Bruce Fedyck - Imagn Images
    Tony Abbott

    One goal short.

    That's all the Minnesota Wild needed to get this series on lockdown. Finding one more goal -- anywhere -- was the difference between going back to Vegas with the Golden Knights demoralized or with home ice advantage in a de facto best-of-three.

    You can't get picky about where the goals come from in the playoffs. Or at least, that's got to be the lesson John Hynes learned in Game 4. Because when his team needed a goal the most, he spent all but 7 minutes and 17 seconds with 24 goals sitting on the bench.

    It's no secret that the Wild have long doubted Marco Rossi's ability to contribute to a playoff effort. At the end of the 2022-23 season, Minnesota refused to play their top center prospect, who had a strong season in the AHL, in a series against the Dallas Stars. This despite losing Joel Eriksson Ek to a broken leg. Those reservations have persisted into this year.

    Hynes has shown no faith in his 60-point center's season carrying over to the first round. After an admittedly poor showing on the third line during his 12-minute playoff debut, Hynes dropped Rossi to the fourth line and has given him strictly fourth-line minutes. Unlike Ryan Hartman, who was able to play his way off the fourth line in Game 1, that path doesn't seem available to Rossi.

    He scored on his third shift in Game 3, and Rossi finished with 10:52 of time on ice. Game 4 was even worse. Once again, he scored on his third shift of the game, and his line with Yakov Trenin and Justin Brazeau was easily Minnesota's best forward group. Still, Rossi had 7:17 through regulation, including 1:19 in the second period and 2:37 in the third.

    How many guys score a goal in back-to-back games while remaining effectively benched? 

    We know how many other 60-point forwards are getting used as little as Rossi is this postseason: zero. Among the other 42 forwards who scored 60 points this season, only 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin (15:28 per night) is averaging under 16 minutes. Lower the bar to 50-point forwards, and no one comes close to Rossi's microscopic ice time.

    It's clear that Game 1 fed into Hynes' doubts that Rossi could provide an impact in the series, one where the 5-foot-9 center was going against the fifth-heaviest team in the NHL. But now? He's proven that he can hang, and he doesn't even need top-tier linemates or a lot of minutes to do it.

    His first goal came with bruising, 6-foot-4 Brayden McNabb on the ice, with 6-foot-2, 216-pound Keegan Kolesar closing in on him. In Game 4, 6-foot-6 Nicolas Hague, 6-foot-2 Zach Whitecloud, 6-foot-4 Nicolas Roy, 6-foot-1 Tanner Pearson, and Kolesar couldn't stop Rossi from parking 14 feet from the net, untouched.

    Not only is Rossi finding space against a much bigger team (only Joel Eriksson Ek has more shots on goal per hour this series), but he's doing something no other Wild draftee has done since Marian Gaborik

    Produce in his first playoff series. 

    Rossi has two goals and an assist through his first four career postseason games. No other Wild-drafted player has scored three points in their first four playoff games in Minnesota. He's already matched what Kirill Kaprizov did in his first playoff series against the Golden Knights. Rossi surpassed Boldy's output in his first series by Game 3. Even Gaborik, who ended his first series with four goals and six points, didn't take off until Game 6.

    Here's where Rossi ranked coming into Sunday's action among 176 forwards with 30-plus all-situations playoff minutes. And remember, this is all with a fourth-line assignment and while being relegated to the second power play:

    7th in Goals Per Hour (2.76)
    20th in Points Per Hour (4.14)
    16th in Shots Per Hour (11.3)

    Of course, we're talking about a small sample size, but still... there's so much more to indicate that Rossi's a player who can step up in the playoffs, rather than shrink from the moment. But as the Wild grew desperate for an insurance goal, then later a go-ahead goal, Hynes made little effort to find ways to get his second-leading goal-scorer on the ice.

    Hynes made no commitment after Game 4 to increase Rossi's role, either. "We'll take it game by game," he said when pressed about Rossi's ice time. 

    It's one thing (but still ill-advised, arguably) to be unwilling to commit to Rossi long-term. The Athletic's Michael Russo has reported that the team has only offered Rossi five years and $25 million -- a below-market deal, even when we don't account for the salary cap's pending exponential rise. Oddly, Minnesota is seemingly preparing to move on from a center with a 60-point season before hitting his 24th birthday, but hey, maybe the Wild have a vision for the future.

    It's much more bizarre to be unwilling to commit to Rossi now. This is the playoffs, and the Wild aren't going to trade for the center of their dreams before their playoff run ends. They don't have top center prospect Danila Yurov ready to step in for Rossi until next year. Minnesota's not nearly so deep that they can afford to play their 24-goal center for just seven minutes in regulation in a must-win game.

    Hynes has two options: He can maximize the playing time of his best players or continue to let perfection be the enemy of good with one of his two best centers. The coach chose the latter, which may have already bitten him, putting Minnesota's chances of winning their first playoff series in a decade in peril.

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    36 minutes ago, TCMooch said:

    I'm a Rossi fan. Hope he leaves this team and lights it up on one that actually appreciates him.

    He will, just like Fiala.

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    For those that are worried that Rossi will not be back next year, I will try and provide some hope that he will.

    1.  The report from Russo that we offered $5M AAV over 5 years states it was back at the beginning of winter.  When exactly I don't know, but if that is in November when the season was only a month old, then the offer makes more sense.

    2.  For everyone afraid that he will leave via an offer sheet, there are only 8 teams that can offer him more than the $6.871 and only one of them made the playoffs this year and that was Montreal.  5 of the 8 are in the draft lottery this year.  Will these teams really risk that they will improve enough to not be in the lottery next year for the first or second pick in what is supposed to be a great draft?  I doubt it

    3.  There are 14 teams that can offer Rossi the $4.58-$6.87M with the risk of losing a first and a third and only 4 made the playoffs.

    4.  Even if he does get an offer sheet and signs it in the above range, the Wild can still choose to match it.  If Rossi is offered, signs it and then we match, we are not allowed to trade him for one year.

    5.  Say Rossi does not sign an offer sheet with another team.  As long as the Wild give him a qualifying offer in time, Rossi would have to sign it by December 1st or sit out the year.  They can also negotiate a better contract during this time.  He could request a trade, but the Wild would not have to honor the request.

    The only real threat of Rossi leaving is if we decide that we want to trade him.  Unless Billy already has a trade target in mind and Rossi needs to be part of that trade, I am still of the belief that some common ground will be found, and Rossi will be back next year.

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    2 hours ago, Wild for Wild said:

    Rossi

    Sooo… Marco is close to the top of weight in squat lifts with the entire Wild roster. At one point I read second. What does this point to? He’s strong and a hard worker. Is Marco aware of how tall he is? My guess is he’s been battling taller players his whole career. He’s working his plan. It doesn’t depend on the Wild resigning him. He’s going to keep improving IMO. I have no idea of what his ceiling is or his future worth in AAV. Personally I like Marco because I like what he says, his attitude and on ice success. He should physically peak out between age 26-28. He’s going to be a beast. 

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    3 hours ago, Wild for Wild said:

    Confused by the Rossi situation at best. If he's being penalized for his size only, I believe he had the same height and approximate weight when they drafted him. So why did you draft him at all? Not like you drafted him unseen, and once you had him you then realized he was 5'9" and you were stuck with him. And the kicker is, is that he's a hard working skater who performs. Not sure what Hynes is trying to "prove" by stapling a 60 point scorer to the bench, but it should cost him his job. Especially if the VGN series goes south.

    rossi is not being penalized - he plays the same amount as almost every one else except for L1 (and he is NOT a L1) player. remove the special team play and you get basically same time on ice. rossi also found decent chemistry with trenin so why break that up? trenin is big and works the boards and can get the puck to a shifty, skilled Rossi (not to mention easier matchups). why would you break that up and place Rossi with Zuccy instead or whoever else? that's going to remove all the advantage you just created! rossi and trenin pair are yielding good results but we are crying about it? right not - it does not matter the line number - what matters is that you are helping the team win. that takes priority. coach has correctly played him every game this PO. 

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    1 hour ago, SkolWild73 said:

    For those that are worried that Rossi will not be back next year, I will try and provide some hope that he will.

    1.  The report from Russo that we offered $5M AAV over 5 years states it was back at the beginning of winter.  When exactly I don't know, but if that is in November when the season was only a month old, then the offer makes more sense.

    2.  For everyone afraid that he will leave via an offer sheet, there are only 8 teams that can offer him more than the $6.871 and only one of them made the playoffs this year and that was Montreal.  5 of the 8 are in the draft lottery this year.  Will these teams really risk that they will improve enough to not be in the lottery next year for the first or second pick in what is supposed to be a great draft?  I doubt it

    3.  There are 14 teams that can offer Rossi the $4.58-$6.87M with the risk of losing a first and a third and only 4 made the playoffs.

    4.  Even if he does get an offer sheet and signs it in the above range, the Wild can still choose to match it.  If Rossi is offered, signs it and then we match, we are not allowed to trade him for one year.

    5.  Say Rossi does not sign an offer sheet with another team.  As long as the Wild give him a qualifying offer in time, Rossi would have to sign it by December 1st or sit out the year.  They can also negotiate a better contract during this time.  He could request a trade, but the Wild would not have to honor the request.

    The only real threat of Rossi leaving is if we decide that we want to trade him.  Unless Billy already has a trade target in mind and Rossi needs to be part of that trade, I am still of the belief that some common ground will be found, and Rossi will be back next year.

    For those that are worried that Rossi will not be back next year, I will try and provide some hope that he will. 

    For everyone afraid

    The only real threat of Rossi leaving

    There is a Rossi hysteria in MN. You all acting like teenagers. Worry/Hope/Afraid/Threat! Goodness!

    spacer.png

     

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    54 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

    For those that are worried that Rossi will not be back next year, I will try and provide some hope that he will. 

    For everyone afraid

    The only real threat of Rossi leaving

    There is a Rossi hysteria in MN. You all acting like teenagers. Worry/Hope/Afraid/Threat! Goodness!

    spacer.png

     

    What are you even talking about?

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    13 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

    My question remains the same

    Let go of babying Rossi

    he is not a priority 

    he is actually being handled fine by the coach and sometimes you wait out a player during contract negotiations - that happens

    instead - you may want to consider if Kap resigns as that IS a much larger issue …. But all hysteria is surrounding Rossi, like Kap is no biggie- but loosing Rossi will be devastating.  
     

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    1 minute ago, OldDutchChip said:

    Let go of babying Rossi

    he is not a priority 

    he is actually being handled fine by the coach and sometimes you wait out a player during contract negotiations - that happens

    instead - you may want to consider if Kap resigns as that IS a much larger issue …. But all hysteria is surrounding Rossi, like Kap is no biggie- but loosing Rossi will be devastating.  
     

    Again, what are you talking about? As always, you completely misinterpreted/misread the post.  Babying Rossi?  What part of my post did that?  Where in my post did I say anything about how we was being handled by the coach?  When did I say Kap resigning is not an issue? The post, as I said in the first sentence was for people that were worried if Rossi might leave and then laid out scenarios.

    Yet you decide you will take it as an opportunity to pull out words that I use for what?  As an insult?  Yet you say, (I think because I still don't understand your first reply), that because of my post and the words I used I am acting like a teenager?

    Teething dog still got you down?

     

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    10 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

    Again, what are you talking about? As always, you completely misinterpreted/misread the post.  Babying Rossi?  What part of my post did that?  Where in my post did I say anything about how we was being handled by the coach?  When did I say Kap resigning is not an issue? The post, as I said in the first sentence was for people that were worried if Rossi might leave and then laid out scenarios.

    Yet you decide you will take it as an opportunity to pull out words that I use for what?  As an insult?  Yet you say, (I think because I still don't understand your first reply), that because of my post and the words I used I am acting like a teenager?

    Teething dog still got you down?

     

    last chance - you are creating a hysteria where NONE exist. and then half the forum is in tears over it. if some team is foolish enough to offer rossi 9-10 (which hawks prob consider) then you laugh at them and get the picks. or you revisit the bridge deal and make rossi see that it is the best for both sides and allows him to get more $ in the near future with whoever he wants. there are other scenarios too that would involve a trade. but overall - there is just too much talk about a player like rossi. too many emotions involved. he is not the pillar that holds our team together. he was rightfully demoted for his play and is where he should be. why i bring Kap into this is because Kap is crucial to our long-term success and this July is do or die for us. but all the urgency is somehow placed on rossi's situation. our focus should be team win and ensuring our superstar is happy and stays, instead we cry for a replaceable rossi....

    and yes - dog is a menace

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    Just now, OldDutchChip said:

    last chance - you are creating a hysteria where NONE exist. and then half the forum is in tears over it. if some team is foolish enough to offer rossi 9-10 (which hawks prob consider) then you laugh at them and get the picks. or you revisit the bridge deal and make rossi see that it is the best for both sides and allows him to get more $ in the near future with whoever he wants. there are other scenarios too that would involve a trade. but overall - there is just too much talk about a player like rossi. too many emotions involved. he is not the pillar that holds our team together. he was rightfully demoted for his play and is where he should be. why i bring Kap into this is because Kap is crucial to our long-term success and this July is do or die for us. but all the urgency is somehow placed on rossi's situation. our focus should be team win and ensuring our superstar is happy and stays, instead we cry for a replaceable rossi....

    and yes - dog is a menace

    Dude, again you misunderstand the post.  This is an article about Rossi, not Kap.  There were plenty of comments about Rossi maybe leaving on this thread which is why I posted what I did.  I didn’t put it in the article about Gus.  I do not need to post on every article about Kap being a priority or give the 101 reasons that he will leave.  If an article is about someone, I post about that player.

     

    How you see my post as creating hysteria is beyond me.  As I said a couple of weeks ago when you called me out for posting a link to an article about Spurg in an thread that was about Spurg, if you don’t like what I post, you don’t have to read it.  

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    Just now, SkolWild73 said:

    Dude, again you misunderstand the post.  This is an article about Rossi, not Kap.  There were plenty of comments about Rossi maybe leaving on this thread which is why I posted what I did.  I didn’t put it in the article about Gus.  I do not need to post on every article about Kap being a priority or give the 101 reasons that he will leave.  If an article is about someone, I post about that player.

     

    How you see my post as creating hysteria is beyond me.  As I said a couple of weeks ago when you called me out for posting a link to an article about Spurg in an thread that was about Spurg, if you don’t like what I post, you don’t have to read it.  

    i didn't misunderstand that - i pointed out the fact that we need to relax on this madness surrounding rossi. where is the disconnect?

    There were plenty of comments about Rossi maybe leaving on this thread which is why I posted what I did. exactly! it's like this forum is becoming a shrine to rossi. 

    I do not need to post on every article about Kap being a priority or give the 101 reasons that he will leave.  If an article is about someone, I post about that player. this is an article and post that is again about Rossi - you can post about whatever you like i think. but i am pointing out that there is an overwhelming surplus of articles and fan cries about rossi, while neglecting the situation with kap. 

    How you see my post as creating hysteria is beyond me. when a person use terms like "worry" "threat" "afraid" he creates a hysteria. 

    if you don’t like what I post, you don’t have to read it.  if it stung, that means there is some truth to it. 

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    1 minute ago, OldDutchChip said:

    i didn't misunderstand that - i pointed out the fact that we need to relax on this madness surrounding rossi. where is the disconnect?

    There were plenty of comments about Rossi maybe leaving on this thread which is why I posted what I did. exactly! it's like this forum is becoming a shrine to rossi. 

    I do not need to post on every article about Kap being a priority or give the 101 reasons that he will leave.  If an article is about someone, I post about that player. this is an article and post that is again about Rossi - you can post about whatever you like i think. but i am pointing out that there is an overwhelming surplus of articles and fan cries about rossi, while neglecting the situation with kap. 

    How you see my post as creating hysteria is beyond me. when a person use terms like "worry" "threat" "afraid" he creates a hysteria. 

    if you don’t like what I post, you don’t have to read it.  if it stung, that means there is some truth to it. 

     

    If it makes you feel better to pick apart my words from my post go ahead.  If you truly believe that how I worded my post creates hysteria, good for you.  To most people I doubt it reads that way.   

    It's an article on Rossi.  There should be comments about him.  How many of the posts are yours? 40?

    Nobody is neglecting Kap.  His contract is for another year.  Almost all of us want him back.  Rossi could be gone in a couple of months.  

    If it stung there must be some truth?  I only said you dont have to read it becuse you seem to have a problem with what I post.  If it makes you so upset, move on is all.  

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    1 hour ago, SkolWild73 said:

     

    If it makes you feel better to pick apart my words from my post go ahead.  If you truly believe that how I worded my post creates hysteria, good for you.  To most people I doubt it reads that way.   

    It's an article on Rossi.  There should be comments about him.  How many of the posts are yours? 40?

    Nobody is neglecting Kap.  His contract is for another year.  Almost all of us want him back.  Rossi could be gone in a couple of months.  

    If it stung there must be some truth?  I only said you dont have to read it becuse you seem to have a problem with what I post.  If it makes you so upset, move on is all.  

    🍻

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    On 4/28/2025 at 7:30 PM, OldDutchChip said:

    You can't tell me Mojo, Nyquist, Freddy, Hartman, etc. in their 30s have the upside Rossi has.  no, but hartman is proving that he is more valuable to PO success than Rossi. And that's a fact. the other three should hopefully be gone with new year.

    Rossi has more points than all those except Hartman...so what the fuck else does he need to do?  he can't do what's needed, that's the point. he can give you 60 pts. and that's not bad. but that's not what Wild need in top 6 player. they need to install brute force. he has none. zero. Yurov is TBD but Rossi is a known commodity. 

    This is kinda crazy to me. 60 points is not nothing. Just a decade ago, we saw a Wild team have players struggle to get their young players to hit 60 points or more. Remember when Charlie Coyle hit 55 and it was his best season ever with the Wild? Rossi is 23 and hit that mark now.

    Not to mention, in the playoffs, you need to score more than the opponent. The last few trips to the postseason, we watched guys - top players - disappear when the team needed them the most. Rossi, in his first playoffs ever, has now scored twice. His name is not mysteriously missing from the score sheet. I don't know why this is ever a bad thing.

     

    And to make this grandiose determination of what Rossi is or isn't based off 11 minutes a game through 4 playoff games is even more wild. I don't think the coaching staff could realistically tell you what he does or doesn't offer because they've never given him time to show it. And every step of the way in his young career, he's proved his doubters wrong.

    And Nojo, Zuccarello, Nyquist are all players that you could put into this same classification and all those guys have years and years of NHL experience under their belts. 

    For years this team has chased size. What, honestly, has it gotten them at all? Because Brazeau and Trenin aren't pitching in goals. They aren't protecting star players. And don't get me started on Foligno. We live the guy, but his impact the last few postseason trips meant nothing in terms of series wins. 

    This whole argument on size and toughness in the playoffs just comes off as "performative" at best.  They tried to be big and tough and it got them nowhere. And now Bill Guerin won't give skill a chance because he wants this prototypical dream scenario kind of player.

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    11 minutes ago, joebou15 said:

    This is kinda crazy to me. 60 points is not nothing. Just a decade ago, we saw a Wild team have players struggle to get their young players to hit 60 points or more. Remember when Charlie Coyle hit 55 and it was his best season ever with the Wild? Rossi is 23 and hit that mark now.

    Not to mention, in the playoffs, you need to score more than the opponent. The last few trips to the postseason, we watched guys - top players - disappear when the team needed them the most. Rossi, in his first playoffs ever, has now scored twice. His name is not mysteriously missing from the score sheet. I don't know why this is ever a bad thing.

     

    And to make this grandiose determination of what Rossi is or isn't based off 11 minutes a game through 4 playoff games is even more wild. I don't think the coaching staff could realistically tell you what he does or doesn't offer because they've never given him time to show it. And every step of the way in his young career, he's proved his doubters wrong.

    And Nojo, Zuccarello, Nyquist are all players that you could put into this same classification and all those guys have years and years of NHL experience under their belts. 

    For years this team has chased size. What, honestly, has it gotten them at all? Because Brazeau and Trenin aren't pitching in goals. They aren't protecting star players. And don't get me started on Foligno. We live the guy, but his impact the last few postseason trips meant nothing in terms of series wins. 

    This whole argument on size and toughness in the playoffs just comes off as "performative" at best.  They tried to be big and tough and it got them nowhere. And now Bill Guerin won't give skill a chance because he wants this prototypical dream scenario kind of player.

    Rossi has performed well with Trenin

    Trenin is creating a lot of opportunities for Rossi c and going the team balance 

    What’s the problem? Rossi is not really excelling in G5

    trenin is doing great - so maybe we start calling to move trenin up? Oh no…. 

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    To me the difference between Kaprizov and Rossi's contract situations is that the Wild are fully aware of how important Kaprizov is to sign, and are willing to do it. The rest is up to Kaprizov.

    The Wild don't realize how important Rossi is to their long-term success (or even, short-term... 7 minutes through two periods again) and aren't acting accordingly. You need centers, too, and centers like Rossi don't grow on trees. At least, not any trees that grow in Minnesota.

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    Yes the madness needs to end!  The madness to play #23. 
    Any more evidence needed. Standing flat footed behind the net. OT  Game over 

    #outcoached 

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    Brazeau late getting to his man on the boards, Bogosian leaves his man unguarded in front of the net to try, unsuccessfully, to play the puck along the boards, Merrill follows his guy way too far out to the circle, Rossi disengages from his guy that he had pinned along the boards to avoid interference and to cover Bogosian's guy and game over.

    Completely Rossi's fault; not Brazeau's, not Bogosian's, not Merrill's (sarcasm). Did you watch the whole sequence of events or just the one second before the game ending goal. Do you Rossi haters have a different standard for him and, if so, why?

    You haters would not have had an opportunity to watch a Wild playoff series this season without Marco Rossi filling the void while Kaprizov, Ek, Zuccarello and others were out with injuries throughout the season. And he did it while being paid under a million for the season and I believe he played all 82 regular season games. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar and game minutes to game minutes there was not another Wild player more productive this season.

    His reward? You Rossi haters parroting your arrogant, stubborn, pig headed GM who would rather be eliminated from the playoffs than to admit that his assessment of Rossi is wrong. Time to pull your heads out of Guerin's rear end so you can actually see where the value is in the Wild organization rather than Billy's crap that you're feasting on!

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