By Thomas Williams -
The Marco Rossi contract saga of the year 2025 is finally over. The Minnesota Wild have reportedly signed the young centerman to a new contract that will keep him in St. Paul for at least a few more years, potentially.
According to PuckPedia, the Wild have re-signed Rossi to a three-year deal that have a salary come in around the $5 million mark.
Shortly after this report from PuckPedia, The Athletic's Michael Russo doubled down on his initial report from Thursday that the Wild are very close to putting pen to paper and then reported officially that it will be a three-year, $15-million contract for Rossi, meaning that it is a flat $5 million cap hit for the young centerman through the 2027-28 season.
This all comes after months of reports and rumors about a stalemate. Earlier this offseason, it appeared that a trade was most likely to happen. The Wild were not satisfied with Rossi's initial contract demands and thought that instead of nailing him down to a contract similar to this one, they would try to see what his value is like in the trade market.
But due to those financial demands and some more traditional general managers questioning his size and whether or not his production was simply because of playing with Kirill Kaprizov, there were no offers good enough for Wild general manager Bill Guerin to accept.
Now, Rossi and the Wild have come together to find a somewhat temporary solution.
The contract is only three years, which means a whole lot of things. First, Rossi will remain a restricted free agent at the end of this deal, with him just being one year away from unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2029. He will be eligible for arbitration this time around, so there could be a swifter solution if, for some reason, there is still this same player-team dynamic three years from now.
With the contract being three years, it is also an opportunity for Rossi to firmly establish himself as that true, top-six center that everyone ultimately hopes he becomes. If his contract demands were truly Matt Boldy's deal of seven years at a $7-million AAV, shaving off $2 million per year to potentially cash in by even more three years from now is not a bad deal for the player. That is, if he becomes a consistent 60–70-point centerman who plays in all situations.
The dollars and term feel like the right balance of risk and potential reward for both the Wild and Rossi. On a pure salary basis, it could be a steal for Minnesota, but it is such a short deal that it won't truly feel like a bargain. To put it this way: Rossi is making just $250,000 less per season than Joel Eriksson Ek has been through some dominant two-way seasons.
We're just happy this is now over, and we can stop thinking about contract negotiations and put our focus on what can potentially happen on the ice.
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