MN Wild Insider Reveals Latest on Slow-Moving Marco Rossi Trade/Contract Talks

The Minnesota Wild offseason has been rather quiet, early on, following another first round exit in the 2024-25 NHL Playoffs. That isn’t expected to last much longer, as we get closer to the NHL Draft on June 27, and the contract tender deadline on July 1.

And with the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties finally off the books (mostly), fans are expecting some offseason fireworks. Not only are the Minnesota Wild promising to be active in free agency, but also on the trade market… which brings us to 23-year-old Austrian center, Marco Rossi.

For years, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin and the Wild organization have not valued Rossi as much as his production says they should. They’ve had him on the trade block on and off for the past two seasons/offseasons.

But the final nail in Rossi + Wild divorce coffin happened in the NHL Playoffs, when after finishing second on the team in both points (60) and assists (36) last season (third in goals – 24), Marco was relegated to the Wild’s fourth line during the 2024-25 NHL Playoffs, where he averaged just over 11 minutes of time on ice per game.

Underwhelming trade offers rolling in for Marco Rossi

Now, the trade calls for Rossi have been rolling in and Guerin is not happy with the offers he is receiving, telling Michael Russo (The Athletic) that “we like Marco” and that he’s not going to make a deal unless it makes Minnesota a better team.

Asked if he’s gotten much interest so far in Rossi, Guerin said, “Yeah, teams see this stuff written and they call, but like I said, Marco’s a good player and I’m not interested in making our team worse or postponing our team being better. So I’m not dying to get rid of Marco. That’s the bottom line.”

The Athletic

What Guerin fails to mention is the other part of the “bottom line” where Marco Rossi is free to sign an offer sheet with any of the other 31 NHL teams, if the Minnesota Wild cannot find middle ground with Rossi or a trade partner to deal him to, before July 1.

Of course, that is easier said than done, since Billy is not offering market value contracts to Rossi and his representation. Guerin says the Wild’s latest offer was “significant”, though Marco’s agent begs to differ.

Minnesota Wild making underwhelming contract offers to Rossi

Per Russo, Minnesota has made two contract offers to Marco Rossi. Previously, they offered him 5 years, $25 million ($5M/Yr). More recently, they’ve made a shorter-term offer that the Rossi camp is also balking at, but has not yet made a counter offer on.

“There clearly is a difference of opinion with respect to Marco’s value,” Rossi’s agent, Ian Pulver, told The Athletic on Sunday. “We will continue in good faith to engage the Wild to attempt to reach resolution. We understand that Billy likes Marco, but for how much? And in what role going forward? (That) is the subject of great debate.

Guerin categorized the Wild’s two contract offers to Rossi as “significant.” “They don’t like it,” Guerin said. “And that’s fine. This is not a knock on them. They feel he’s of more value. But to say I don’t like him, if you knew what the value of what those contract offers were, you’d say, ‘Oh, he definitely likes him and wants to keep him.’”

The Athletic

Here’s what bothers me about this situation. Bill Guerin knew these conversations were coming this summer. He knew Marco Rossi was going to become a restricted free agent on July 1. And yet, instead of giving him some more ice time during the playoffs, in exchange for multiple forwards who were not playing up to snuff, Rossi could dictated his own fate.

Related: Bill Guerin Unveils Minnesota Wild Offseason Plan

Had Marco shown some of the warts that the Wild seem so afraid of, then his stock would have went down, making it easier to deal him. If he had found success with that extra ice time, then other teams would be more willing to offer bigger packages in a trade this offseason.

Or even better, maybe the Wild win another game or two and don’t exit in the first round. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. And now, Bill Guerin is having issues finding a legitimate market for the center he’s been so obviously trying to get rid of for years. And who’s fault is that? Yours, Bill. This is your L. And now, you have one month to figure out how to fix it.