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  • What Does Kaprizov’s Contract Mean For Marco Rossi?


    Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
    Kalisha Turnipseed

    The Minnesota Wild have finally signed Kirill Kaprizov, and now it's time to rejoice. However, what does this mean for Marco Rossi, who might have something to lose after the Kaprizov extension? 

    Rossi hasn’t signed a long-term extension like Kaprizov, who will make $136 million ($17 million AAV). Rossi was signed to a three-year, $15 million ($5 million AAV) contract. 

    Am I saying that Rossi should've gotten a paycheck like Kaprizov or even Matt Boldy

    Not exactly. 

    He isn't in the same category of talent as Kaprizov. Rossi doesn't have the same stick-handling skills as Boldy, either. Still, Rossi has good hockey sense, as evidenced by his ability to be in the right place at the right time. How far can that take him? Can they afford Rossi on his next deal? Will they keep him or Filip Gustavsson

    Rossi is showing improvement, and Guerin should capitalize on his growth. However, Rossi is in a potential lose-lose situation. If his play declines, the Wild will trade him. If he produces like a top-line center, he’ll probably price himself out of Minnesota. Rossi won't accept another team-friendly deal lower than $8 million AAV. The Wild have Boldy signed for $7 million AAV, which is a bargain.

    Kaprizov’s extension kicks in after this season. He'll be able to experience the development of Boldy, Rossi, Brock Faber, Zeev Buium, and Jesper Wallstedt as their primary core. Danila Yurov, Liam Ohgren, David Jiricek, Hunter Haight, and Adam Benak can potentially support their core.

    Joel Eriksson Ek is also a bargain, and Rossi needs to become more valuable to the team offensively than Eriksson Ek. Eriksson Ek will always get more defensive minutes than Rossi, so Rossi needs to be more productive offensively than Eriksson Ek. Eriksson Ek didn't become a 60-point producer until age 26. Rossi already reached that milestone at age 23. If he progresses to a 75-80 point producer, then the Wild must consider extending him long-term. 

    Rossi should be a point-per-game player if he’s on a line with Kaprizov and Boldy. Given that Kaprizov will occupy much of the Wild’s cap space, and they have locked in a lot of their cap space, Guerin must rely on players he’s drafted and is developing. There’s enough talent on Minnesota’s roster to maximize Rossi’s production. He’s a first-line player even if he’s the third-most talented player on that line.

    By the start of the 2026-27 season, Guerin will need to decide if he’s going to extend Rossi. Guerin wants to build a contender around Kaprizov. The Wild should strive to build an annual contender, rather than relying on a single Stanley Cup run. 

    Rossi may take another team-friendly deal if he's playing with Kaprizov, one of the best players in the world. He knows that if he demands too much cap space, they’ll trade him because of Kaprizov’s contract. Rossi is known for being a good team player, so he may stay in a good situation. 

    Rossi will be entering his fifth season in the league. Will he stay on the top line, or will the Wild package him in a big trade? At this point, Rossi will need to show he's irreplaceable. He won't have to worry about another prospect replacing him. 

    Will Rossi be an established point-per-game producer? If he doesn’t, I could see Guerin targeting Sidney Crosby or Artemi Panarin. Could he land both? Guerin would have to be very strategic in pulling that off. He could try to land both in free agency from 2026 to 2027. Rossi may still be on the team by then, assuming they don’t trade him.

    Marc-Andre Fleury works for the Wild, and he has moved his family to Minnesota. He just finished his NHL career, retiring with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fleury and Crosby are best friends. Do you know who else are best friends and have the same agent? Kaprizov and Panarin. It isn't as far-fetched as many would think. Kaprizov and Fleury have the power to recruit Crosby and Panarin to Minnesota. 

    The Wild will need to make the most of Kaprizov’s extension. Rossi may be the odd man out because he's in a lose-lose situation. It's unfortunate because he's doing all the right things to be a successful NHL center. However, he may accept another team-friendly deal, sticking with Kaprizov as his winger. As long as he wins the Cup, it shouldn't matter how much he's getting paid. 

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    26 minutes ago, WIWild said:

    Kap > Boldy + Ek + Rossi.

    Remember to adjust the math for percentages of the team cap number at the time of signing. Each contract will change over time. Example. Mids + ELC player> Ek. In adjusted cap space Boldly is likely getting close to $9M. Team cap gurus will really be earning their money as players coming off of ELCs will be making bank. As far as actually constructing a team it’s hard to use just the $ for complete valuation. 

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    No doubt. Easy to rationalize if a non-teammate non-player. Not sure it's so easy to rationalize for teammates. Wonder how much bad blood it creates for others, or if other players are just happy to get a small piece of the pie. You go out on the ice and realize all 5 of you make less than the guy who's at home, with an injury, again. Gotta be rough to be in those shoes.

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    26 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

    BG is on a terror.  Gus just signed for 5 more years.  $34M, $6.8AAV

    Guess he really liked what he saw last night???

    It is for less than $7M, as expected. Now if they make a run to the conference finals, they won't have to worry about his price tag!

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    10 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    Guess he really liked what he saw last night???

    It is for less than $7M, as expected. Now if they make a run to the conference finals, they won't have to worry about his price tag!

    If the Gus Bus is making that kind of money, what will happen with the Wall? Wallstedt was supposed to be the teams goalie of the future, but it's hard to see a scenario where Gus Bus makes big bucks to be the backup.

    Guerin must not think Wallstedt is ready to be the teams future in net. I guess the two goalies could split time at goalie, but I think giving Gus Bus the new deal is Guerin signaling his opinion on who the future starter will be.

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    14 minutes ago, Quebec1648 said:

    Guerin must not think Wallstedt is ready to be the teams future in net. I guess the two goalies could split time at goalie, but I think giving Gus Bus the new deal is Guerin signaling his opinion on who the future starter will be.

    Gustavsson is an above average NHL goalie--top 10 in save percentage two of the last 3 seasons. Wallstedt hasn't proven himself yet and he will be a restricted free agent, so Guerin can likely keep him around under a favorable deal for a few years and figure things out later. The cap could be over $120M in a few years and they might be able to afford any guys they need.

    I don't think Guerin has signed a long-term deal that has been truly bad yet. People complained about the Gaudreau deal, but he scored 18+ goals 2 of the last three seasons and he was able to trade him for a 4th round pick. Trenin wasn't an incredible signing, but he does have a physical presence and I think he'll prove to be useful on both ends of the ice this season.

    Guerin has watched Gus develop into a professional since trading for him, and I assume he came to camp looking as good as he ever has. The Wild could be well positioned to make a run in these next few seasons, while Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Rossi are on extremely good deals.

    Per Puckpedia, the Wild project to have around $20M of contract value they could bring in at the trade deadline, so along with growth from their youth, the team they take to the playoffs could be more talented than the one that starts the season.

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    I’m a fan of the Gus signing. Hats off to Guerin. I think with Wall he will either develop over next few years or we trade him or he takes over for Gus and we trade Gus when his contacts go to limited no trade contract

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    While I think the price tag is too high, '26-27 our goalie price is $9m. If The Wall is just a backup at that time, it's hard to imagine an extension higher than $3m. That would keep our goalie tandem in place around $10m, the number we should stay beneath. 

    Goose is signed until 2031, a quick look at Puckpedia reveals the rest of the buyout money, $1.67m, ends after the '25-29 season. While it's not much, it is an ELC and a half, or a nice tack on to the goalie battery. This does solidify the net, gives Guerin a little more cap certainty, and a better idea of what he might be able to trade/UFA moving forward. 

    Personally, I stand by my Blackwood comment and believe Goose got overpaid too, especially since we don't know if he is an every other year 'tender yet. If that is the case, though, 3/5 years on the new contract would be the good years! 

    With the new contract comes increased expectations. I do expect a sv% on the PK to be around 12th in the league. 

    Does this mean that the Wild see The Wall as being the backup for awhile? Not necessarily. Goose was able to obtain an NMC for the 1st 3 seasons, and has a 15 team M-NTC for the following 2. Would Hlvaj or Mercer be ready to backup The Wall by then? Quite possibly they would.

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    But, this article was about Rossi. I don't think the Kaprizov contract affects Rossi much at all, except for the fact that Kaprizov will be around for his entire contract. 

    Rossi's issue is all about Rossi. What can he do to make himself better? It appears from reports that he has checked some of the iffy boxes this summer. It's pretty simple, win faceoffs, don't get knocked around, put up points while being responsible defensively. A very positive net goals on his lines is what he needs, and all this other stuff helps that. 

    If he does this, he will have earned a nice pay increase.

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    21 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

    BG is on a terror.  Gus just signed for 5 more years.  $34M, $6.8AAV

    Having a good goalie is never a bad thing .

    And Rossi need to react the wright way against his underpay 

    Try to repeat 60 point season and look for a new team 

    As cool as Kaprisov signing is him earning in 2026/27 more than 1C,2C and 3C COMBINED is not a healthy sign and a extremely dangerous strategy .

    Let's just hope he stays healthy a lot 

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    On 10/4/2025 at 6:13 PM, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    I don't think Guerin has signed a long-term deal that has been truly bad yet. People complained about the Gaudreau deal, but he scored 18+ goals 2 of the last three seasons and he was able to trade him for a 4th round pick. Trenin wasn't an incredible signing, but he does have a physical presence and I think he'll prove to be useful on both ends of the ice this season.

    People like to hate Guerin.  You are right he really hasn't made a bad signing.  Everyone screams but they gave up Marat or Hunt or signed players with no move clauses.  

    Marat will probably not play in Boston this year.  Hunt is a body that fills a roster spot.  The no move clauses are to players that are tenured players.  

    It is a lot easier to hate on the GM instead of looking at the reason why the moves are made. 

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    Simple.  Rossi needs to play.  At the end of the day if there is money to sign him they will sign him.  But Rossi needs to play well in order to get that contract.  Right now they still have an RFA year left on Rossi even after this contract is up.  Which means they can qualify him for 6.25 million and if nobody takes him he will play for 6.25 million.  The thing is Rossi isn't going to get any taller and since he really can't win Faceoffs at a higher than 50% level, he is a liability to most teams as a starting center.  

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    On 10/4/2025 at 5:41 PM, Quebec1648 said:

    If the Gus Bus is making that kind of money, what will happen with the Wall? Wallstedt was supposed to be the teams goalie of the future, but it's hard to see a scenario where Gus Bus makes big bucks to be the backup.

    Guerin must not think Wallstedt is ready to be the teams future in net. I guess the two goalies could split time at goalie, but I think giving Gus Bus the new deal is Guerin signaling his opinion on who the future starter will be.

    There a 5-6 year difference in age. When Gus starts to decline, Wall will be entering his prime if he still continues to develop and get better so the timing is perfect. Goalies usually take a while to really get good.

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