By Kalisha Turnipseed -
The Minnesota Wild are considering moving on from Marco Rossi, who recently scored 20 goals for the first time in his career. In 2021, Rossi suffered from heart complications related to COVID-19, but he has recovered. He has been healthy this season and will reach 100 games played in his NHL career. For a team starving for center depth, why would you give up on a 22-year-old center, especially one who’s been one of the team’s best players 5-on-5?
Rossi is second among forwards with a Goals For percentage (GF%) of 56.34, trailing Joel Eriksson Ek’s GF% of 56.98. That means Rossi produces a higher GF% than Kirill Kaprizov (55.96), Matt Boldy (55.81), and Mats Zuccarello (55.26). Rossi’s been one of Minnesota’s better offensive players despite also being one of the youngest players on the roster.
Rossi is tied for first on the team in goals with 17 with Kaprizov. He’s also tied for third in points with 31 with Eriksson Ek and is fourth in shots with 109 behind Ryan Hartman (114), Kaprizov (130), and Eriksson Ek (142). The Wild have long needed scoring at even strength, so why do they want to trade Rossi?
He’s also Minnesota’s best player at drawing penalties with 24. That’s ahead of Hartman’s 23 penalties drawn, and he’s a veteran who agitates opposing players. Rossi is tied for first with 11 rush attempts with Kaprizov. He’s also fifth among forwards with 24 takeaways and fourth in blocked shots with 30. Rossi’s playing an effective two-way game.
Rossi has been productive 5-on-5, but he’s not the same player on the power play.
He’s tied for fifth with two power-play goals with Frederick Gaudreau. The worst thing is that Gaudreau has more points than Rossi (7), the sixth on the team. Rossi is seventh with 5. Hartman and Zuccarello are ahead of Rossi, tied for fourth with 5 goals. Although Rossi’s fifth in shots with 36, his goal generation on the power play has been lackluster, and he doesn’t have any primary assists. As a top-ten draft pick, Rossi can’t have Hartman and Gaudreau outscoring him on the power play.
We’ve seen Rossi elevate his game when he’s playing 5-on-5, but it declines on the power play. Rossi, 22, can grow his game over time, but the Wild’s patience is running low on him. The Wild aren’t rebuilding; they are ready to win now. If Rossi showed more of a difference on the power play to complement his 5-on-5 play, perhaps they would have secured a playoff spot by now.
Unlike Hartman, Rossi also lacks the versatility to play different roles than a top-six center. The Wild have occasionally taken Rossi off the top line, replacing him with Hartman, indicating how much they are questioning Rossi’s all-around impact as a top-line center, let alone an everyday top-six player. That’s why the Wild could trade him to make room for Danila Yurov. The 24th pick in the 2022 draft offers an all-around game and versatility, allowing him to replace Rossi.
Yurov is currently playing professional hockey in Russia and already possesses the toughness to play in the NHL. Draft experts describe him as a forward who can play center and wing and be responsible for producing offensive points. He’s also a scrappy forward who doesn’t mind mixing up around the net. Therefore, we should expect Yurov to adapt better to the NHL than Rossi.
The Wild likely want Yurov here sooner rather than later. But Yurov has mentioned being concerned with his role on the team after the contract extensions. The Wild also have Kaprizov, Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Rossi in their top-six. Yurov doesn’t want to be blocked by the contracts, and Riley Heidt could join the team as soon as next year. Therefore, it makes sense to trade Rossi to make room for prospects with higher ceilings. Yurov joins Kaprizov and Zuccarello, while Heidt joins Eriksson Ek and Boldy. That leaves Hunter Haight as the next prospect in line to replace Marcus Johansson in 2025-26 or Zuccarello in 2026-27.
Haight’s the last player to complete Judd Brackett’s retool of the Wild’s top-six. The Wild already have their core pieces in Kaprizov, Boldy, and Eriksson Ek. Yurov, Heidt, and Haight make sense as the last additions. Eriksson Ek will have the time of his life with Triple H as Boldy moves up to play with Kaprizov and Yurov. That makes Rossi the odd man out in the long term. Heidt and Haight can potentially be power play specialists, which is Rossi’s weakness. But that doesn’t mean he can’t benefit from a change of scenery on a rebuilding team that will be patient with him.
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