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Marco Rossi

West Notes: Rossi, Hyman, Yegorov

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In another update on the tumultuous relationship between Marco Rossi and the Minnesota Wild, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic offered some hypothetical landing spots for the former ninth-overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.

The pair of reporters listed the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Utah Mammoth, and Winnipeg Jets, in that order, as the likeliest landing spots for Rossi if the Wild trade him. Furthermore, Smith and Russo believe the Canucks can offer the most compelling trade package of the listed teams.

They asserted that the 15th overall selection of the 2025 NHL Draft would have to be the headliner of the deal, and they’ve heard reports that Vancouver would be willing to move the pick in the right trade. As a secondary portion, Smith and Russo said one of Victor Mancini, Sawyer Mynio, Nils Höglander, or Arturs Silovs would be enough of a sweetener to get the deal across the finish line.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • In a disastrous outcome for player and team, the Edmonton Oilers have already lost Zach Hyman for the Stanley Cup Final due to wrist surgery. According to Jason Gregor of the Daily Faceoff, due to the severity of the injury in which Hyman dislocated and tore several ligaments in his wrist, there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready for training camp in September either. It’s more unfortunate news for Hyman, who was a sparkplug for the Oilers this postseason, scoring five goals and 11 points in 15 games with 111 hits.
  • The Calgary Flames will have to wait a few more years for one of their goaltending prospects to make his way to North America. Earlier today, Ryan Pike of Flames Nation reported that the Flames’ sixth-round pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Yegor Yegorov, has signed a two-year deal with the KHL’s Spartak Moskva. Still, with Dustin Wolf in the net for the foreseeable future, Calgary isn’t in a rush for another netminder, given they can hold his contractual rights indefinitely as a Russian draftee.

Marco Rossi’s Contract Demand Becoming A Roadblock

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Marco Rossi’s asking price for his next contract is quickly becoming an issue, and not only for the Minnesota Wild. Earlier today, in an article by Anthony Di Marco of the Daily Faceoff, he indicates that teams aren’t interested in Rossi if his seven-year, $ 49MM extension demand remains.

Di Marco indicates that the Philadelphia Flyers had ’lukewarm’ interest in Rossi dating back to 2024. The discussions at that time centered on Morgan Frost, before he was traded in a separate deal to the Calgary Flames. According to a source, the Wild are interested in recently extended Tyson Foerster, along with one of the Flyers’ late first-round picks for the upcoming draft, originally belonging to the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.

Later on, in an article from Michael Russo of The Athletic, Minnesota General Manager Bill Guerin denied Di Marco’s report, saying, “I’ve talked to lots of teams about lots of players — not just Marco — and names come up all the time, but there’s never been any serious discussion with anybody yet.”

According to Russo’s report, the Wild have offered Rossi a five-year, $25MM extension and a shorter-term offer for an undisclosed amount. Regardless, there seems to be a clear disconnect between the team’s assessment of Rossi’s value and his own.

It is unlikely that Minnesota will meet Rossi’s asking price for an extension. The Wild gave the same contract to winger Matt Boldy, who scored 102 points on his entry-level contract, compared to Rossi’s 101. The sticking point is that Boldy did it in 60 fewer games played.

Still, Rossi could make a solid case for himself by comparing himself to Flames forward Matthew Coronato. Coronato signed a seven-year, $45.5MM extension with Calgary a few weeks ago, and he had 13 fewer points than Rossi this past season.

At this point in the negotiation, there doesn’t seem to be a bridgeable gap between Minnesota and Rossi, unless he opts for the shorter-term offer. Russo listed the Buffalo Sabres, Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, and Vancouver Canucks as suitable candidates should they pivot to trading their former ninth-overall selection.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Marco Rossi

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The Blackhawks, Kraken, Flyers, Penguins, and Sabres are among the teams that have shown interest in acquiring Wild pending restricted free agent center Marco Rossi, according to RG’s James Murphy. While general manager Bill Guerin has refuted trade speculation surrounding the 2020 ninth overall pick in the past, there hasn’t been much noise around progress in contract talks so far this offseason, especially after he had his minutes slashed in the playoffs by head coach John Hynes.

For a team considering parting ways with a young player, it’s never a good sign when virtually every club with a need at the position with the assets to make an appealing trade work steps up to the plate. Minnesota’s deployment of Rossi, particularly this season, has been puzzling. The Austrian pivot finished sixth in Calder Trophy voting in 2023-24 and took strides in 2024-25 to prove his floor as a second-line center, notching a 24-36–60 scoring line in all 82 games despite missing star wingman Kirill Kaprizov for most of the campaign. He averaged north of 18 minutes per game in the regular season but played just 11 minutes per night in the playoffs, although that didn’t stop him from still contributing a pair of goals and an assist in the Wild’s first-round elimination at the hands of the Golden Knights.

With Rossi posting those point totals on a bottom-10 offensive team, it’s easy to see why many clubs are optimistic about his ability to slot into their top-six immediately and, at worst, replicate his performance from last year. From Minnesota’s standpoint, assuming their internal projection of him is as pessimistic as his late-season role reduction indicates, it makes sense they wouldn’t want to commit to a long-term deal that will likely cost north of $7MM per season. For Rossi, it makes little sense for him to sign a bridge deal in Minnesota if he feels he won’t get the minutes there to maximize his earning potential a few years down the line.

If the Wild can’t work out a trade for Rossi, an offer sheet threat looms. A long-term deal for Rossi will likely end up at seven years at around $7.4MM per season, AFP Analytics projects. That would require a team to surrender their 2026 first, second, and third-round pick as compensation if the Wild decline to match. As such, they’ll likely set their price around there in trade talks, at least in terms of comparable value. Considering their increased salary cap flexibility this summer and intact core, it makes sense they’d rather pursue trade options to land a more NHL-ready asset in place of a return largely centered around draft picks.

Of the five teams mentioned by Murphy as having interest in Rossi, all but the Sabres have the picks to acquire Rossi in the $7.02MM to $9.36MM range for an offer sheet. Buffalo would need to reacquire their 2026 second-rounder to do so. They sent it to the Senators in this year’s Dylan Cozens/Joshua Norris swap.

Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi Discuss Contract Talks With Wild

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Wild star winger Kirill Kaprizov spoke to reporters today and hinted at his interest in signing an extension with the club this summer, per Joe Smith of the Athletic.

The Wild will be eligible to sign Kirill Kaprizov to a contract extension starting July 1, and owner Craig Leipold has made it clear the organization is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep their superstar in Minnesota. Judging by Kaprizov’s comments today, the feeling appears to be mutual.

“This is my agent’s job, so we will see. But I love everything here. It should be all good,” he said. “It’s all about winning. Everything is about winning. But I like everything about here.”

It will be fascinating to see what kind of deal Kaprizov lands—his next contract could rank among the richest ever signed by a winger, or by any player, in NHL history. While Kaprizov could land a massive deal on the open market, the Wild do have a ton of cap space available, making the path even clearer to sign an extension with Minnesota. No matter the cost of his contract, Kaprizov will more than likely prove to be worth it. At just 28, Kaprizov has lit up the league over five sensational seasons, racking up 386 points in 319 games. That production already places him fifth on the Wild’s all-time points list, while his 185 goals rank third, just 34 shy of Marián Gáborík’s franchise record. And the Russian also put to rest any concerns about the injury he sustained this season that required surgery and kept him out of the lineup for three-plus months, as Kaprizov posted five goals and nine points in the team’s 4-2 series defeat to the Golden Knights.

The tone was a little less positive from center Marco Rossi, who, like Kaprizov, deflected questions regarding his contract toward his agent, but also noted his disappointment in being relegated to a fourth-line role in the playoffs, per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News.

“I was very disappointed. But I have been taught to respect those decisions. It’s always the team first,” he said. “We had an honest discussion about (my role). We were both honest. I won’t tell you everything that was said, but I need to respect it.”

Rossi, who is headed for restricted free agency this offseason, quietly put together a strong campaign with 24 goals and 60 points—impressive numbers on a team that often struggled to generate offense. Given that production, his limited role in the playoffs sparks questions about where he fits into the Wild’s long-term plans.

Guerin: Wild “Not Looking To Trade” Marco Rossi

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The Wild have received legitimate top-six production this year from 2020 ninth-overall pick Marco Rossi, which Wild general manager Bill Guerin says has taken his name off the trade block after years of speculation, as relayed by Michael Russo of The Athletic.

“I’m very happy with Marco – oh my god, yeah,” Guerin said. “Just his pace of play, his engagement every night, he has been one of our best players. I think the biggest thing, too — and I know this is the hardest thing for young players — is his consistency… He’s doing all the right stuff.”

Rossi has parlayed that consistency into a top-line role between superstar Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello for the vast majority of the season, something that’s surely helped his production at face value. But one could make the argument that spending so much time with Rossi has helped Kaprizov along in his career-best pace, too. The Russian winger is clicking at a career-high 1.47 points per game and leads the league with 20 even-strength goals, all the while spending 22 of his 34 appearances on Rossi’s left flank. Rossi’s emergence has also proved necessary in the absence of No. 2 center Joel Eriksson Ek over the past month with a lower-body injury. Since Eriksson Ek’s last appearance on Dec. 3, Rossi has five goals and three assists in 10 contests while logging well over 20 minutes per game.

That’s made Rossi indispensable for a Wild club with aspirations of a deep playoff run. Now fueled by the next generation, including Rossi and stalwart Brock Faber on the back end, all signs point to them leveraging other assets to improve at the trade deadline instead of flipping Rossi as part of an upgrade for a big fish. With how well he’s performing, on pace for 28 goals and 66 points, it’s doubtful there would even be a veteran upgrade available down the middle on deadline day. Minnesota native Brock Nelson, who’s struggled offensively this season and is only on pace for 47 points, projects as the top center available on the block, Chris Johnston wrote for The Athletic earlier this month.

The question now for Guerin is how many financial resources he’s willing to commit to Rossi, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The Wild have more than $13MM in cap space opening up this summer with a significant reduction in the impact of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, notwithstanding a salary cap increase of at least $4MM. That means they won’t have any issues acclimating a heavy raise on a potential long-term deal over the summer, but keeping an eye out for a multi-million dollar bump on Kaprizov’s current $9MM AAV contract that expires in 2026 remains paramount.

Morning Notes: Blues Offer Sheets, Rossi, Gartner

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The Blues tendered the first successful offer sheet(s) in three years last month when they landed both Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway from the Oilers. Some thought the rich contracts may have been a ploy to snag one while Edmonton matched the other. That wasn’t the case, as Blues general manager Doug Armstrong told Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic that the team “structured it that way in an attempt to get both players.”

“We scouted them,” Armstrong continued. “We’ve watched their development. We thought there was a chance that we could get both when you looked at the Oilers’ contracts coming up, and it ended up working out that way.”

It all indicates Armstrong’s hope to end his tenure as GM by returning the 2019 Stanley Cup winners to championship contention without a total teardown. “We now have double-digit players drafted in the first round over a five-, six-year span,” he said. “Now, they’re not all going to make it, but consistently, you have 70 to 80 percent of those guys make it; they can actually play together for the better part of five, six, seven years. Building something that’s sustainable is what we’re trying to do here. Those two players fit perfectly into that.”

More from around the NHL as training camp nears:

  • Center Marco Rossi’s commitment to a solid sophomore season in the State of Hockey was evidenced last month when he declined to participate for his native Austria in this summer’s qualifying tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics, instead focusing on starting his pre-season training in Minnesota. The 22-year-old spoke recently to Joe Smith of The Athletic, saying he thinks a 30-goal season is “of course possible” after lighting the lamp 21 times in his rookie year. He’s got his confidence back after demonstrating his floor as a perfectly acceptable top-nine pivot last season – which wasn’t a guarantee for the 2020 ninth-overall pick after complications from COVID-19 cost him virtually all of his post-draft season. That adversity “always makes you stronger mentally,” he said.
  • After a 10-year run as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, Lanny McDonald’s tenure in the role will end in June 2025, thanks to term limits. He’ll be succeeded by nine-time 40-goal scorer and 2001 inductee Mike Gartner, as Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun relays. Gartner will enter a chairman-elect role next month to “support transitional matters and be on the search committee for a new president and CEO.” He’ll also preside over the induction of the 2025 class, which will be announced weeks after he takes over as chairman full-time.

West Notes: Desharnais, Rossi, Rehkopf

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The Canucks may slot in UFA signing Vincent Desharnais on their top defense pairing alongside Quinn Hughes in spot duty next season, opines Thomas Drance of The Athletic.

Doing so would allow Filip Hronek, who spent all of last season stapled to Hughes and is fresh off signing an eight-year, $58MM deal, to drive his own pairing against easier competition. That’s something head coach Rick Tocchet said he’d consider doing, telling Drance that Hronek can “tend to defer too much” at times when playing with Hughes and that he’d “like to see him be more forceful with his decisions.”

It would be a big jump for Desharnais, though. The 28-year-old only established himself as a full-time NHLer last year with the Oilers. He was a bottom-pairing presence for Edmonton, averaging 15:44 per game through 78 contests. He did post 11 points and a +3 rating with average possession metrics, but playing alongside Hughes with any consistency would be a tough task for a player who’s seen most of his professional career unfold in the AHL to date. Desharnais inked a two-year, $4MM contract with Vancouver when free agency opened on July 1.

There’s more out of the Western Conference:

  • Austria will be without perhaps its best player in this summer’s qualifying tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Wild forward Marco Rossi is skipping the event to begin training in Minnesota later this month, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic. Rossi, 22, is coming off a career-high 21 goals and 40 points last season while playing in all 82 games and could open the season as the Wild’s first-line center alongside Kirill Kaprizov. The 2020 ninth-overall pick had one assist in three games during the 2022 qualifiers with Austria failing to earn one of the three available spots. This year, they’ll be competing for one of the open spots in a round-robin tournament with Hungary, Kazakhstan and Slovakia.
  • Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf has been traded in the Ontario Hockey League, heading from the Kitchener Rangers to the Brampton Steelheads, sources tell Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Rehkopf, 19, has spent the last three seasons in Kitchener, where the 6’2″ forward led the team in scoring last season with 95 points (52 goals, 43 assists) in 60 games. The 2023 second-round pick will be returned to Brampton out of training camp this fall, but a strong post-draft season puts him in line to compete for a roster spot in Seattle in next year’s training camp.

Central Notes: Cogliano, Carrier, Rossi

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Avalanche winger Andrew Cogliano has played on one-year deals in each of the last three seasons and with his 17th NHL campaign ending at the conclusion of Colorado’s playoffs, there are questions about whether he’ll continue playing.  Speaking with Kyle Frederickson of The Denver Gazette, the 36-year-old indicated that he’s hopeful to stick around but also wants to see how things go in the postseason and go from there.  Cogliano logged a career-low 10:37 per game during the regular season but was fairly productive despite the low ice time, notching 19 points in 75 contests while adding four assists in six playoff appearances despite barely logging nine minutes a night.

More from the Central:

  • Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier is set to hit unrestricted free agency in July but Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game notes that there was a bit of dialogue between the two sides about an extension earlier in the season and that his desire is to remain in Nashville. The 27-year-old had a breakout year in 2021-22 and has been an important part of their back end since then.  Carrier had 20 points and 137 blocks in 73 games with the Preds this season and is well-positioned to receive a multi-year deal this summer with a raise from the $2.5MM he made on his set-to-expire deal.
  • Despite a strong first full NHL season, Minnesota is believed to be open to offers on center Marco Rossi, reports Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period. The 22-year-old potted 21 goals and 19 assists in 82 games while logging a little under 17 minutes, a solid rookie campaign for the ninth overall pick in 2020.  This doesn’t appear to be a case where the Wild are shopping Rossi but rather one where they’re open to the idea of a ‘hockey trade’ where they’re getting a quality piece back.  Notably, Rossi has another year left on his entry-level deal and with one more year of expensive cap charges on the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts (before the charges drop considerably for 2025-26 and beyond), they would likely be looking for a similarly-priced contract if they were to part with him.

Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021).  Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen

Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram

Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen

Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington

Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen

Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell

Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin

Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski

Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene

Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon

Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais

Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson

Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi

Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia

Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron

New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar

New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck

New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick

Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux

Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier

Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby

San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey

Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord

St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker

Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont

Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov

Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen

Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo

Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie

Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit

Wild Notes: Rossi, Goligoski, Gustavsson, Reaves

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The Minnesota Wild’s number-one priority as an organization seems to be finally finding the a true number-one center to build around. When he was drafted with the ninth-overall pick at the 2020 draft, it was believed that Austrian center Marco Rossi had a shot at being that long-awaited franchise-altering pivot. Significant health issues altered the trajectory of Rossi’s development early in his time as a Wild prospect, and while he has been an exceptionally productive player in the AHL (104 points in 116 career games) the soon-to-be 22-year-old hasn’t managed to seize the moment in the NHL with Minnesota.

While he’s still undoubtedly someone the Wild are hoping pans out, the Athletic’s Joe Smith reported today that he believes the Wild would “be open to moving Rossi if the right deal came up,” such as one with a 2023 first-round pick as compensation. (subscription link) The Kirby Dach trade that was made at last year’s draft could serve as a template for this kind of deal, with the Canadiens surrendering a draft pick in order to acquire a high-upside center whose development had been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Given how significant Dach’s developmental turnaround was under Martin St. Louis in Montreal, it seems possible that an organization confident in its player development abilities might be willing to part with a first-round pick in order to acquire Rossi. Acquiring Rossi could afford a team a quicker turnaround to NHL relevance than developing a brand-new draft pick, so perhaps a team looking to speed up its rebuild or quickly inject some cost-controlled young talent into its roster could be a fit as well.

Some other notes regarding the Wild:

  • Smith’s article touched on quite a few players of interest to this Minnesota offseason, including 1042-game veteran blueliner Alex Goligoski. Smith reports that Goligoski’s preference is to remain in Minnesota for the final year of his contract, but that his $2MM cap hit combined with the Wild’s significant salary cap constraints could complicate things. Goligoski has a full no-movement clause on his contract so he can control his playing future, but after spending much of last season as a healthy scratch one wonders if he’d sanction a move away from Minnesota simply to re-gain a regular spot in an NHL lineup.
  • Perhaps the most significant player the Wild will need to negotiate with this summer is netminder Filip Gustavsson, who had a stellar season. Gustavsson is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and Smith writes that his next contract “will end up falling into one of three categories: a one-year deal, a three-year deal or a one-year arbitration award.” With top prospect Jesper Wallstedt waiting in the wings, it makes sense that the Wild might not want to invest long-term in Gustavsson, but should the 25-year-old manage to even come close his numbers from this past season in 2023-24 only locking him down for one season could end up a costly mistake.
  • The Wild’s mid-season trade acquisition of enforcer Ryan Reaves injected some much-needed energy and life onto their roster, and he scored 15 points in 61 games helping the team reach the playoffs once again. Smith writes that Reaves, now 36, would like to return to the Wild but is prioritizing maximizing the financial value of his next contract, a deal that could very well end up his last major free-agent cash-in. Reaves reportedly is seeking term on his next deal longer than just one year, so since the Wild are set to be paying nearly $15MM in dead money due to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, it very well could be that re-signing Reaves is a luxury they cannot afford.

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