What we’re hearing about a Marco Rossi trade, potential destinations and return

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When it comes to Marco Rossi being at a crossroads with the Minnesota Wild, it’s all about value.

And not just his average annual value.

President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has said he likes Rossi but has a certain number he’s comfortable paying the pending restricted free agent. He’s made a couple “significant” offers, he said, including for a shorter bridge deal last week.

There was another call between the sides on Tuesday, per league sources, and Rossi’s agent, Ian Pulver, reiterated that a bridge deal no longer makes sense for Rossi after he was buried on the fourth line in the playoffs.

Since the Wild don’t seem to have an appetite to invest in a long-term deal for Rossi at an AAV around Matt Boldy’s $7 million, it sure feels like his time in Minnesota could be coming to an end over the next few weeks. We know Rossi already turned down a five-year, $25 million offer a few months ago.

Brock Nelson, a veteran center the Wild planned to pursue in free agency, re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday at the tune of three years with a $7.5 million AAV. So the Wild will need a Plan B, especially if they trade Rossi. Centers who could be available in free agency if they remain unsigned before July 1 include the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett, Toronto Maple Leafs’ John Tavares, Dallas Stars’ Matt Duchene, Ottawa Senators’ Claude Giroux and Jonathan Toews, who last played for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023.

If the free-agent route doesn’t make sense, the Wild would have to acquire a center via trade, either in a possible Rossi deal or another.

Guerin confirmed last week that teams are showing interest in Rossi, and there will come a point where Pulver can also shop for offer sheets in advance of Rossi officially becoming a restricted free agent July 1.

Rossi played top-six minutes for most of this past season and was the team’s second-leading scorer before being “very disappointed” to see himself get the third-lowest ice time on the team during the Wild’s first-round playoff series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Rossi said he had an “honest” and “man-like” exit meeting with coach John Hynes. So it’s not just his contract, but what his role might be, which is “the subject of great debate,” as Pulver told The Athletic.

The good news for Rossi, 23, is that any team that acquires him knows it must pay him, so that would mean he’s wanted and a likely part of his next team’s future.

The most telling value in all of this is how much other NHL teams have for Rossi, who is No. 2 on The Athletic’s offseason trade board for a reason.

But trading a young center means pressure on Guerin. The Wild have spent 25 years trying to draft and develop talented centers, and successes have been few and far between (Mikko Koivu, Joel Eriksson Ek, Rossi).

So Guerin would have to figure out a way to parlay Rossi into a significant return, because as the GM told The Athletic last week, he doesn’t want to make the team worse.

Say what you want about Rossi, but he’s shown the past two years on an injury-riddled team that he’s able to play full 82-game seasons and produce. That production is not easily replaceable. There’s a reason Guerin has said he’s not “dying” to trade him.

“I can’t imagine Marco Rossi would not have value and really good value around the NHL,” former NHL GM Craig Button told The Athletic recently. “There are teams screaming, screaming for that type of player.”

Which teams could be “screaming” for him? What could the return be? Here’s what we’re hearing, with insight from The Athletic’s local beat writers.

Vancouver Canucks

Canucks beat writer Thomas Drance: The Canucks’ most urgent need this summer, explicitly, is a “top-two lines center.” That’s a description that applies in straightforward fashion to Rossi, both in terms of deployment and production.

Honestly, the opportunity to add a 23-year-old pivot who led all Wild centers in five-on-five ice time during the regular season and produced 60 points seems almost too good to be true from a Canucks perspective. It’s exactly the sort of player this club requires to bolster its center talent in the wake of last season’s J.T. Miller trade.

In an ideal world, perhaps, the Canucks would prefer to land a larger right-handed center than Rossi (5-foot-9, 182 pounds). Vancouver’s need for skill and upside in the middle of its forward group is too significant, though, to overthink this because of marginal fit or traits-based concerns. Rossi is a gifted young center, and the Canucks are desperate to add a gifted young center, so the fit here is obvious.

If the Canucks decide to get into the Rossi business this summer, they’ll have some desirable assets to dangle in exchange.

The club’s 2025 15th pick is very available on the trade market and would presumably be the centerpiece of any Rossi package. The club could sweeten the pot further with a young blueline prospect like Victor Mancini or Sawyer Mynio, a young NHL player like Nils Höglander, or even goaltender Artūrs Šilovs, who has been a star for AHL Abbotsford in the Calder Cup playoffs after a difficult NHL campaign.

If the Wild want a center back to preserve some flexibility heading into the offseason, the Canucks are expected to consider parting ways with unrestricted free agent Teddy Blueger and his $1.8 million expiring cap hit. He’s a player Guerin has a fair bit of familiarity with from his time as an AHL general manager in the Penguins organization.

Despite his size, Marco Rossi is known for going to the tough areas of the ice. (Bob Frid / USA Today)

Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers beat writer Kevin Kurz: Finding an NHL-ready center, preferably someone who can play in the top six, is high on general manager Daniel Briere’s offseason to-do list, particularly after the Flyers dealt two of them this season in Morgan Frost and Scott Laughton. The Flyers have some assets to dangle, too, with seven picks in the top 50 in the upcoming draft, including three in the first round. I could see them potentially parting with one of those later first-rounders. Or if the Wild are seeking a player who could help immediately, perhaps they’d be willing to go for Minnesota native and right winger Bobby Brink, who took a noticeable step forward this season.

My hunch is that Rossi’s diminutive size would be a turnoff for the Flyers, who are already on the small side. Still, if no other options are available, Rossi would help fill a sizable hole in their lineup.

Buffalo Sabres

Sabres beat writer Matt Fairburn: Right now, the top two centers on the Sabres’ depth chart are Josh Norris, who has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, and Jiri Kulich, who is 21 and just finished his rookie season. So the Sabres would be wise to explore any upgrade to the top six.

The question would be whether the price for Marco Rossi makes sense for Buffalo. JJ Peterka feels like too much for the Sabres to give up. Bowen Byram might be an appropriate value. Jack Quinn could be available, but the Sabres would need to give up more than that. Kevyn Adams would probably prefer to dip into the Sabres’ deep prospect pool or dangle the No. 9 pick in a trade like this.

Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes beat writer Cory Lavalette: The Hurricanes certainly need more scoring down the middle behind Sebastian Aho, and Rossi has the potential to fill that void.

There are also some factors playing against Rossi. While he plays bigger than his frame, he would still be another small forward in a lineup that already includes Aho, Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake and Logan Stankoven. Also, Rod Brind’Amour has desperately coveted a right-handed center — Rossi would add to the team’s glut of lefties at the dot.

All that said, if GM Eric Tulsky sees Rossi as a fit, Carolina has a wealth of assets.

Rossi should be a slightly depreciated asset after playing just over 11 minutes a night for the Wild in the playoffs. An offer sheet isn’t an option unless the Hurricanes get back their 2026 third-round pick, but it does give a baseline for the market for Rossi — something around a first and a third.

Given the extra first-round picks Carolina has, Tulsky could offer a likely late first (one of Dallas’ future picks or the Hurricanes’ own this year) and go from there.

Even if the trade makes sense, I still wonder about Rossi’s fit.

Calgary Flames

Former Flames beat writer Julian McKenzie: The Flames finished 29th in goals for and 30th in goals at five-on-five. So, yeah, they could use some scoring anywhere they can get it. This is already on top of their need for talent, particularly from young players between the ages of 18 and 23. Rossi checks off those boxes. Calgary would also love his versatility at center and wing.

Calgary has prospects and draft picks they can offer in return. If the Wild covet a roster player more, then a pick or prospect can work as a sweetener. I’d be fascinated to know who on the Flames the Wild would covet. Yegor Sharangovich seems like an obvious trade candidate to me. But he’s coming off a down year and he might not fit the bill. Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson would be fascinating trade pieces to ponder. But Kadri has a no-move, while the Flames still have to decide on Andersson’s future.

Utah Mammoth

Smith: The Mammoth already have an exciting young core, and GM Bill Armstrong is primed to make a splash this summer. There are rumblings Utah is dangling the No. 4 pick in this month’s draft for top-six help, and while there’s no indication that means Rossi, we know how much Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny loves the Wild center.

Tourigny, who coached Rossi in junior with the Ottawa 67’s, is a “huge believer” and the “biggest fan” of Rossi, comparing his “first quality” IQ to the likes of Ryan O’Reilly.

“Trust me. He’s an unbelievable pro,” Tourigny said. “Takes care of his body. Takes care of every detail. He’s super driven, super competitive. He’s really shifty. He has an unbelievable IQ — great hockey sense. It’s a matter for him to keep getting more mature in all of it. But Marco Rossi’s a hell of player. On and off the ice, he’s as low-maintenance as you can find. He’s the most prepared guy you can find. He was a blast to coach.”

Marco Rossi scored 120 points in 56 games playing for now-Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny on the OHL 67’s in 2019-20. (Graig Abel / Getty Images)

Winnipeg Jets

Jets beat writer Murat Ates: The Jets probably aren’t in the market for a smaller center, despite Rossi’s great talent, but there’s a strong argument that they should be. Winnipeg has traded first-round picks for second-line centers who then walked as unrestricted free agents in 2018, 2019 and 2023 — and would have done so again in 2025 had their Brock Nelson trade worked out with the Islanders. This is a hole the Jets will throw assets at until it’s patched. There’s also win-now pressure building in Winnipeg, given the number of star players aged 30 or above.

Rossi needs a new contract now but isn’t UFA eligible until 2029, making him someone well worth paying a first-round pick for — and a prospect like Brad Lambert or Colby Barlow, as necessary — to spare the Jets their annual 2C angst at the trade deadline.

Honorable mentions

Other teams potentially interested in a young, scoring center: Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins (tons of draft capital, may need to prep for life after Evgeni Malkin if this is his final season in the NHL), Detroit Red Wings (they’re already a little small up front, though), New York Islanders, Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche.

(Top photo: Nick Wosika / Imagn Images)

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