By Bekki Antonelli -
The Minnesota Wild may trade Marco Rossi if the 23-year-old center and Bill Guerin cannot reach a deal. Rossi was unsatisfied with his playoff ice time or the Wild’s offers, and the Boston Bruins are in the market for a second-line center.
Guerin and Rossi have been negotiating a contract, but there is a disparity about Rossi’s value. Rossi reportedly turned down a 5-year, $25 million contract and a shorter-term offer last week. He previously made $863,334 average annual value (AAV) on his 3-year contract that ended in the 2024-25 season, and is looking to make around $7M AAV going forward.
Rossi noted that he went from 40 to 60 points this year, saying that “it’s always going up and I always improve. I’m for sure a top-six guy.” The center is looking for a top-six contract. He was also healthy and played all 82 games in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons on a Wild team that suffered myriad injuries.
Recently, the negotiations have hit a stalemate, and Rossi is ineligible for arbitration. He signed his first contract at 19 years old, so he would need 4 seasons with at least 10 games per season, and he doesn’t meet this threshold. Arbitration tends to be a last resort, but the threat of it pressures GMs to come up with a contract.
Besides contention over his sticker price, Rossi said he was “very disappointed” by his lack of ice time during the playoffs. He averaged 18:15 TOI during that regular season, but dropped to 11:08 in the postseason, which was the third-lowest ice time of any Wild player.
While the playoffs were disappointing for Rossi, he played a key role in the regular season, and the Wild would like to keep him. Guerin addressed the trade rumors, saying, “Marco’s a good player and I’m not interested in making our team worse. … So, I’m not dying to get rid of Marco.”
The Athletic compared Rossi to Anton Lundell and Dylan Cozens. Lundell just finished the first season of his 5-year, $25M contract, which he signed after a 35-point season. Rossi likely expects more due to the cap raise and his own 60 points.
However, Lundell has a bit of size and experience on Rossi. The Panthers center is 6-foot-1, 196 lbs., compared to Rossi’s 5-foot-9, 182 lbs. frame. When Lundell signed his extension, he had 3 productive seasons, rather than Rossi’s 2 productive seasons. Still, if Rossi continues to produce like he has been, he’ll be worth more than $5M AAV.
Ottawa Senators forward Dylan Cozens signed a 7-year, $7.1M AAV contract after his third season, where he put up 68 points. However, he only managed 47 points in each of the following 2 seasons. Cozens is still a productive player, but his career makes GMs wary of signing long, expensive contracts with young players who may be inconsistent.
With $15,786,835 in cap space for the 2025-26 season, Minnesota has the money Rossi seeks. The Wild still need to sign additional forwards and potentially a goalie, but they only have 3 active roster spots left. Even if they gave Rossi the $7M AAV, $8M is enough for another top-six player and a rookie or 2 solid 3rd liners.
The Fourth Period suggested Boston as a destination for Rossi. The trade makes sense for the Bruins, who have $26,286,333 in cap space and lacked offense last year. The Bruins only scored 222 goals, ranking them dead last in the Eastern Conference for Goals For. Boston couldn’t make up for it defensively and ended the season in 15th place in the conference.
The Bruins have goal scorers, but must supplement them. David Pastrnak led Boston in points with 43 goals and 63 assists, followed by Morgan Geekie with 33 goals and 24 assists. Rossi would immediately fit into their first or second line and likely play a bigger role in Boston. Rossi was second for points and third in goals on the Wild, but Minnesota has a depth that the Bruins don’t. If Boston makes the 2026 playoffs, Rossi is all but guaranteed ice time if he stays consistent.
While the Bruins have plenty of cap space, they also have several spots to fill. They are set at goalie but only have 8 forwards and 4 defensemen on the roster. Most importantly, Boston needs to sign a contract with Geekie, an RFA who just finished a 2-year, $4M contract and will likely expect more money.
However, due to similar contract disagreements, Boston recently traded top forward Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said there was a “gap” between Marchand's compensation expectations and what Boston could offer. Marchand’s 8-year, $49M contract ends after the 2024-25 season, and he is likely looking for at least $7M AAV. If the Bruins won’t spend the money on a proven veteran like Marchand, they may not want to foot the bill for Rossi either.
Still, Boston is in a position to make an enticing trade for Rossi. The Bruins will pick 7th in this year’s draft, and still have all of their 2025 draft picks. They also have 2 first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027. If they are willing to pay the price tag and sacrifice a solid draft pick or two, Rossi might be skating in black and gold next season.
Minnesota and Boston have the cap space and could afford Rossi’s price tag, but they still need to consider compensation for other key players they have not yet signed. Rossi has had 2 excellent seasons and shown improvement. However, he doesn’t have the consistent years of production that other players leverage to sign high-compensation contracts. Ultimately, he may need to settle for a bridge contract before signing long-term.
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