Marco Rossi Training With Retired NHL Legend

Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi is still without a contract and there are no signs of the team and player being close to signing a new deal. But, that of course does not mean Rossi will put his offseason training on hold -- and recently he was seen training with a recently retired NHL legend.

Out there in Davos, Switzerland -- just an hour drive away from Rossi's hometown in Austria -- the 23-year-old center laced up his skates and took to the ice with none other than Joe Thornton.

While it is very natural for Rossi to be skating over there in Switzerland, it might seem a little strange for Thornton, a native of St. Thomas, Ont., to be on the ice. But, notably, Thornton played for HC Davos of the top Swiss league during the 2004-05 lockout, again during the 2012-13 lockout, and then again in 2020 when the 2020-21 NHL season was delayed due to the pandemic. There is clearly something that keeps bringing the eventual Hockey Hall-of-Famer back.

Hopefully soon, Rossi steps off the ice and puts pen to paper on a new contract with the Wild. We can't go through even more contractual drama when we have Kirill Kaprizov's extension to also worry about.

• He's not getting much hype around the league, but Sebastian Soini is one Wild prospect that we should all look out for. He's got game, as we saw in the World Junior Summer Showcase that just ended here. [Hockey Wilderness]
• The Wild are changing their blue line. Prospects Zeev Buium and David Jiricek should play important roles in the coming season, and Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon are obviously the heart of this defense core. So, where does that leave Jake Middleton? Is he going to be left out? [Hockey Wilderness]

Off the trail...

• As if we needed another reason to despise the Dallas Stars, there is a massive story brewing down in Texas. USA Today recently put out a massive feature on how the team have monopolized the sport in the area. Everything runs through them, from minor hockey to just playing some beer league -- and prices are soaring. It's disgusting. [USA Today]
• For the gamers, Matthew Tkachuk has been named as the cover athlete for EA NHL 26. [TheScore]