By Kalisha Turnipseed -
The New York Rangers are interested in Marco Rossi. They need a center under 25 with top-six upside since the Rangers need more youth. Can Mike Sullivan get the most out of Rossi? How much does this shift the Rangers’ retool?
The Rangers are also looking to move Alexis Lafreniere so he can get a fresh start in Minnesota. However, they are only offering Lafreniere for Rossi, which isn’t fair value for the Wild.
Minnesota has the better player. Rossi has accomplished more than Lafreniere and has only played in half as many games. Lafreniere's point-per-game rate is 0.51 points in 380 regular-season games played. Rossi’s point-per-game rate is 0.55 points in 185 regular-season games played. Rossi’s already passed 100 points.
Rossi is only 92 points behind Lafreniere, highlighting that he's not far from catching or surpassing him in points. With back-to-back 20-goal seasons and his first 60-point season, Rossi has provided the Wild with more value.
Lafreniere scored 91 points in his first 185 games, which means Rossi scored 10 more points than Lafreniere at the same point in their careers.
New York took Lafreniere first overall in 2020, and the Los Angeles Kings took Quinton Byfield second. The Wild took Rossi ninth, but he has also outscored Byfield. While Byfield hasn't reached 185 regular-season games (he’s at 179), Byfield still scored 88 points in that span. Despite going later in the draft, Rossi has been more valuable than Lafreniere and Byfield.
The Rangers would have to add more to the Lafreniere package to acquire Rossi. If the Rangers trade for Rossi, don’t be surprised if they sign him to around $8 million for 6-7 years. He's earned it!
However, Wild general manager Bill Guerin won't offer Rossi that contract.
The Rangers have $8,422,142 in cap space. Their free agents are Arthur Kaliyev (RFA), Adam Edstrom (RFA), Will Cuylle (RFA), Matt Rempe (RFA), K'Andre Miller (RFA), Matt Robertson (RFA), Zachary Jones (RFA), Nicolas Aube-Kubel (UFA), and Calvin de Haan (UFA).
If the Rangers clear out Lafreniere's contract, they'll have $15,872,142 in cap space to sign and extend Rossi. However, they still must extend Miller and Cuylle, who are due for raises. Miller is coming off a cap hit of $3,872,000. He isn't signing another bridge deal. He'll want north of $6 million at the very least. Cuylle is coming off his $828,333 Entry-Level Contract (ELC). He scored his first 20-goal season. He'll likely demand north of $3.5 million.
Expect the Rangers to keep Cuylle because they need youth. Cuylle could have a better offensive career than Miller, which is why the Rangers could be open to moving Miller. Should the Wild trade for Miller?
Miller would be returning to Minnesota, where he'll be a fan favorite and can play top-four minutes. That would give Zeev Buium a cushion to develop in the NHL.
Here's what a trade could look like:
- To New York: Marco Rossi, Jonas Brodin, Freddy Gaudreau, Riley Heidt, David Spacek, Carson Lambos, and a 2025 2nd-round pick
- To Minnesota: Alexis Lafreniere, Vincent Trocheck, K'Andre Miller, Chris Kreider (50% retained), 2026 1st round pick, and 2027 3rd round pick
First, the Wild would have to trade Brodin to pull this off, which will upset many people. However, the upside of moving Brodin is that Minnesota replaces him with a younger talent in Miller, who provides size (6-foot-5, 209 lbs). Miller is Brodin's heir apparent, unlike Lambos. Brodin no longer has a No-Movement Clause (NMC). Guerin didn’t give himself much flexibility to trade players, so unfortunately, Brodin would be the odd man out.
The Wild can target Kreider, who had a down season but still scored 22 goals. He has the perfect combination of size (6-foot-3, 229 lbs) and speed that would complement Kaprizov. Playing alongside Kaprizov can turn Kreider into a 30-goal scorer again. Could Kreider score 40 goals again? It's possible if he's playing with Kaprizov.
Also, Kreider would reunite with Zuccarello. They were linemates on the Rangers when Zuccarello played for them from 2010 to 2019. Zuccarello will have a big smile coming into training camp because he gets to play with Kaprizov and Kreider.
The Wild can move Zuccarello to the second power-play unit to play with Kreider, rekindling their chemistry. Kreider can be a net-front presence and score on rebounds, giving the Wild another power play that can be lethal due to Kreider's net-front presence. He can proudly wear No. 20, formerly worn by Ryan Suter.
Kreider and Trochek can also improve the Wild’s penalty kill, which has been a problem. Trocheck was tied for 1st in the NHL in short-handed goals with 6. Kreider was tied for 3rd with 4 short-handed goals. New York’s penalty kill percentage was 80.3%, which ranked them 11th in the NHL. That would be a good improvement for the Wild. Trocheck and Kreider can be on the top penalty kill with Jake Middleton and Brock Faber.
Lafreniere can play on the second line as a starting point, but he can take over for Kreider once he gains consistency. Lafreniere should have success playing alongside Matt Boldy and Trocheck, giving Boldy competent linemates.
Lafreniere will play bumper on the top power play with Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Boldy, and Buium. There's no reason Lafreniere can't contribute on the score sheet. He's playing with superstar Kaprizov and a good supporting cast.
Sullivan coached Gaudreau on the Pittsburgh Penguins, another reason Rangers’ general manager Chris Drury should execute the trade. Gaudreau is familiar with Sullivan's system and will be a reliable bottom-six contributor. The Wild played Gaudreau more minutes in the playoffs than Rossi. Fans can be more comfortable with Trocheck playing a 2nd line role instead of Gaudreau.
Trocheck exceeded expectations in his last playoff appearance, scoring 20 points in 16 games in the 2023-24 season. That’s the kind of secondary scoring the Wild can use to help Yurov develop into a top-six center. That will allow the Wild to move Ryan Hartman to the fourth line to play between Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin. That trio will give opposing teams migraines.
The Wild are ready to contend in 2025-26. They also addressed the penalty kill in a Rossi trade. The Wild should be reliable in all situations now.
After the Wild trade for Lafreniere, Trocheck, and Kreider, the 2025-26 lineup looks like this:
Forwards
- Chris Kreider - Joel Eriksson Ek - Kirill Kaprizov
- Alexis Lafreniere - Vincent Trocheck - Matt Boldy
- Mats Zuccarello - Danila Yurov - Marcus Johansson
- Marcus Foligno - Ryan Hartman - Yakov Trenin
- Vinnie Hinostroza
Defense
- Jake Middleton - Brock Faber
- K'Andre Miller - Jared Spurgeon
- Zeev Buium - David Jiricek
- Zach Bogosian
Goalies
Special Teams
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Power play
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Unit 1: Lafreniere - Eriksson Ek - Kaprizov
Buium - Boldy -
Unit 2: Kreider - Trocheck - Yurov
Jiricek - Zuccarello
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Unit 1: Lafreniere - Eriksson Ek - Kaprizov
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Penalty kill
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Unit 1: Trochek - Kreider
Middleton - Faber -
Unit 2: Hartman - Trenin
Miller - Spurgeon
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Unit 1: Trochek - Kreider
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