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  • Wild Offered Sabres Marco Rossi for JJ Peterka, Were Rejected


    Image courtesy of © Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
    Thomas Williams

    The Minnesota Wild might have just pulled off the luckiest move of the entire NHL offseason.

    In a move that’s left many fans scratching their heads, the Buffalo Sabres reportedly rejected a trade offer from the Wild that would have sent center Marco Rossi to Buffalo in exchange for JJ Peterka.

    Both players are 23 years old and coming off breakout seasons -- Peterka notched 68 points in 77 games, while Rossi tallied 60 points in 80 games. The Wild were reportedly willing to sweeten the deal with additional assets -- another roster player, picks, or prospects -- to make the trade work. On paper, the value seemed nearly even, with both players in need of a fresh start and carrying similar upside.

     

    Instead, the Sabres opted to trade Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for defenseman Michael Kesselring and forward Josh Doan, a return many analysts and fans have called underwhelming. The decision to pass on Rossi, a former top-10 draft pick with elite playmaking potential, has sparked criticism of Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams, especially given that other offers reportedly included names like Jordan Kyrou, Noah Dobson, and even multiple first-round picks.

    While Buffalo may have prioritized positional needs -- Kesselring is a right-shot defenseman, a known area of need -- the optics of turning down a high-upside forward like Rossi have only added to the narrative of puzzling front-office decisions in Buffalo.

    All of this is to say: The Wild got away with something.

    Peterka for Rossi as a straight one-for-one swap could have been something that eventually worked for both sides, but considering the Wild were going to attach draft picks, prospects, and potentially other roster players for the former Sabres winger, feels like a little bit much. Peterka is a fine player, but he led all forwards in on-ice shooting percentage last season and is a negative defensive player. That is a risky acquisition, and Rossi is perhaps the exact opposite of that type of player; as someone who does everything right with high-danger plays on the ice but maybe doesn't get the right bounces every night.

    Now, the Wild might be "forced" to re-sign Rossi, the pending restricted free agent, and keep him around. Unless, another high-level impact forward becomes available and Wild GM Bill Guerin will then promptly throw the 23-year-old Austrian in exchange.

    • The Wild are aiming to add a middle-six center to the team soon and they could do it in a low-ceiling trade. So, who is the better fit? Jean-Gabriel Pageau or a returning Charlie Coyle? [Hockey Wilderness]
    • The Minnesota Wild traded dependable forward Frederick Gaudreau to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, for a 2025 fourth-round pick. Gaudreau has three years left on a deal paying him $2.1 million per year. So, it's really a move about what comes next for the Wild, rather than a transaction in a vacuum. [Hockey Wilderness]

    Off the trail...

    • Hey, there's a new CBA! It will feature loads of interesting new rules and regulations. Everything from shortening player contracts by a year, banning dress codes, to getting rid of the playoff LTIR loophole many champions have used. [Daily Faceoff]
    • The major questions heading into the 2025 NHL Draft. Who will be the big surprise pick? [Sportsnet]

    Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form.


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    I guess we didn’t have any other players that Buffalo wanted similar to Kesselring and Doan. (Or Billy and other GMs think Rossi is worth less than Kesselring and Doan.)

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    1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    The market is doing a good job of telling Rossi and Agent what his market value really is.  

    market looks at bill, “did you even say thank you”

    Not sure this is the way things are looking when Peterka gets traded and immediately signs a deal worth $7.7 per year. If that's the case the market might favor Rossi a lot more than Bill. 

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    19 minutes ago, PNW Wild said:

    Not sure this is the way things are looking when Peterka gets traded and immediately signs a deal worth $7.7 per year. If that's the case the market might favor Rossi a lot more than Bill. 

    True but I think the math would be $7.7 minus whatever else was offered (player, pick, etc). I still think 6.5 is where it's at...which I would be fine with.

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    18 minutes ago, PNW Wild said:

    Not sure this is the way things are looking when Peterka gets traded and immediately signs a deal worth $7.7 per year. If that's the case the market might favor Rossi a lot more than Bill. 

    Except that Rossi has gotten far less trade attention/offers than what Peterka garnered. 

    So if Peterka was $7.7M, it would seem Rossi isn't viewed as being worth that among other GMs.

    I mean think about it, there's a dearth of top-6 Cs and still nobody is trying to knock the GMs socks off to try and pry Rossi away. He would've had to throw in other pieces to get a top-6 wing with Rossi as the centerpiece... 

    Highly unlikely Rossi's gonna get an offersheet based on how teams are treating him being on the trade block. 

     

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    Just now, B1GKappa97 said:

    Highly unlikely Rossi's gonna get an offersheet based on how teams are treating him being on the trade block. 

    I bet he gets a QO for 6-6.5M and we match.

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    37 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

    (Or Billy and other GMs think Rossi is worth less than Kesselring and Doan.)

    I would assume Wild offered Rossi, Gaudreau, and Spacek. That seems like it might be better than Utah offered in forward value, but Buffalo apparently valued the big 6'5" RHD(Kesselring) from round 6 of the 2018 draft.

    Kesselring's average TOI suggests he was a 3rd pairing D when everyone was healthy, but likely played some 2nd pair when injuries required someone to elevate.

    Doan certainly has some upside as well as a top 40 pick from the 2021 draft. At 6'2", and 190 pounds, he has solid size along with some scoring potential. He was the top scorer on Utah's AHL affiliate the year prior to last.

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    10 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

    I bet he gets a QO for 6-6.5M and we match.

    As long as the Wild have cap space to match, I don't think anyone is going to try signing him to that deal. Teams will need to be above $7M for Guerin to consider not matching, so it's not worth their time to offer sheet him in a range they know they won't get him.

    Unless another GM simply doesn't like Guerin, I don't think it's likely that they would deliver an offer sheet while the Wild have cap space to easily match.

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    3 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

    I bet he gets a QO for 6-6.5M and we match.

    I'm guessing you meant offersheet here. His QO would be somewhere around $1.2m, probably less. That's going to be out there just to maintain our rights with him. Rossi's problem is lack of leverage. I think Enforcer probably has a decent gauge on a longer term deal for Rossi, but with no leverage the thing is, you don't have to pay market value....for 1 year. 

    If Rossi's agent continues to be unreasonable with the situation he's in, Guerin could get frustrated (which he's known to do) and just leave the QO out there and nothing more. Perhaps sitting the agent down and explaining this to him is exactly what needs to happen. Essentially, outside of an acceptable offersheet on their side, Guerin has all the leverage. 

    While that's the reality, it does make for poor employee relations. The thing is, if you've got a kid who has put in 2 years of above average service and he expects a huge raise for the next year, like, say, elevated from the sales floor to assistant store manager, it just doesn't happen like that. You have to take steps to get there, not just skip a whole flight of stairs, which is what some teams have been doing with their young kids these days. 

    When they wrote Rossi's name on the draft card, I have to wonder what Guerin was thinking and if he thought it would get to this? Was he expecting a late growth spurt? Was he expecting a really stocky player? How was a guy who was 5'9" at the draft going to be a #1c? Why not take the larger body in Lundell who would probably eventually get to a #2c? Ek and Lundell would have been a very good tandem (and when taken, Ek was not a 1C). 

    And, I'm also going to challenge the narrative that Rossi has done everything asked of him. Obviously, he can't just grow vertically overnight, but has he really built up his body as he was asked? Is he still 182 when it was rumored 2 years ago he was passing the 190 mark? Or, is it that he plays small too and Guerin wants him to play bigger? 

    IMO, Rossi needs more strength all over, and must have elite edges, don't much care about the front line speed. He's got to be able to battle in the corners and come up with pucks, and none of his skill can diminish. Is it a tough ask? Yes, but it is an expectation if he wants to get paid. According to the Buffalo GM who passed over him in the draft, he thinks the same way. We may see if every other GM in the league thinks like this too. 

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    7 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    I would assume Wild offered Rossi, Gaudreau, and Spacek. That seems like it might be better than Utah offered in forward value, but Buffalo apparently valued the big 6'5" RHD(Kesselring) from round 6 of the 2018 draft.

    Kesselring's average TOI suggests he was a 3rd pairing D when everyone was healthy, but likely played some 2nd pair when injuries required someone to elevate.

    Doan certainly has some upside as well as a top 40 pick from the 2021 draft. At 6'2", and 190 pounds, he has solid size along with some scoring potential. He was the top scorer on Utah's AHL affiliate the year prior to last.

    Kesselring and Doan are probably cheaper than what Rossi wants, too.

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    44 minutes ago, PNW Wild said:

    Not sure this is the way things are looking when Peterka gets traded and immediately signs a deal worth $7.7 per year. If that's the case the market might favor Rossi a lot more than Bill. 

    Fair point.  Rossi's market value is likely closer to 7M than 5M.  But Rossi ain't Peterka (even though their age and stat lines are similar) as evidenced by BUF's thanks but no thanks.  Best case scenrio is a 2X$6+ where Rossi continues up and to the right as the Wild have an appreciating asset it can trade (if it want's) at future TDL's.  

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    9 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    I'm guessing you meant offersheet here. His QO would be somewhere around $1.2m, probably less. That's going to be out there just to maintain our rights with him. Rossi's problem is lack of leverage. I think Enforcer probably has a decent gauge on a longer term deal for Rossi, but with no leverage the thing is, you don't have to pay market value....for 1 year. 

    If Rossi's agent continues to be unreasonable with the situation he's in, Guerin could get frustrated (which he's known to do) and just leave the QO out there and nothing more. Perhaps sitting the agent down and explaining this to him is exactly what needs to happen. Essentially, outside of an acceptable offersheet on their side, Guerin has all the leverage. 

    While that's the reality, it does make for poor employee relations. The thing is, if you've got a kid who has put in 2 years of above average service and he expects a huge raise for the next year, like, say, elevated from the sales floor to assistant store manager, it just doesn't happen like that. You have to take steps to get there, not just skip a whole flight of stairs, which is what some teams have been doing with their young kids these days. 

    When they wrote Rossi's name on the draft card, I have to wonder what Guerin was thinking and if he thought it would get to this? Was he expecting a late growth spurt? Was he expecting a really stocky player? How was a guy who was 5'9" at the draft going to be a #1c? Why not take the larger body in Lundell who would probably eventually get to a #2c? Ek and Lundell would have been a very good tandem (and when taken, Ek was not a 1C). 

    And, I'm also going to challenge the narrative that Rossi has done everything asked of him. Obviously, he can't just grow vertically overnight, but has he really built up his body as he was asked? Is he still 182 when it was rumored 2 years ago he was passing the 190 mark? Or, is it that he plays small too and Guerin wants him to play bigger? 

    IMO, Rossi needs more strength all over, and must have elite edges, don't much care about the front line speed. He's got to be able to battle in the corners and come up with pucks, and none of his skill can diminish. Is it a tough ask? Yes, but it is an expectation if he wants to get paid. According to the Buffalo GM who passed over him in the draft, he thinks the same way. We may see if every other GM in the league thinks like this too. 

    After drafting Rossi: “I love everything about you…now change everything about you.” - GMBG

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    Just now, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    As long as the Wild have cap space to match, I don't think anyone is going to try signing him to that deal. Teams will need to be above $7M for Guerin to consider not matching, so it's not worth their time to offer sheet him in a range they know they won't get him.

    Unless another GM simply doesn't like Guerin, I don't think it's likely that they would deliver an offer sheet while the Wild have cap space to easily match.

    I think getting a signed QO at 6M would make BG's life pretty easy, but you are right it would be a waste of time and effort for the other guy.

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    Just now, mnfaninnc said:

    IMO, Rossi needs more strength all over, and must have elite edges, don't much care about the front line speed. He's got to be able to battle in the corners and come up with pucks, and none of his skill can diminish. Is it a tough ask? Yes, but it is an expectation if he wants to get paid. According to the Buffalo GM who passed over him in the draft, he thinks the same way. We may see if every other GM in the league thinks like this too. 

    I think it's between the ears for Rossi.  He has shown he is capable and effective when he fights and battles.  He has also shown that has a habit of being passive out there and coasting like he did throughout the playoffs when everyone else took it up a notch.

    It's hard to commit to an undersized player with a sputtering motor at times.  I believe his value is diminished because of this.  

    I personally think Rossi is still a work in progress and is a late bloomer, and hopefully a more consistent attitude and drive will come with maturity.   We should keep him.

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