Minnesota Wild Deliver Big Update to Vancouver Canucks in Their Strong Pursuit of Marco Rossi
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An NHL insider has given a big update this week regarding on of the Vancouver Canucks' trade targets, Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild.
The Vancouver Canucks' pursuit for some help down the middle will likely continue into August and maybe even September as prices around the National Hockey League for centerman are reportedly still quite high.
One name that the Vancouver Canucks have been linked to is Minnesota Wild restricted free agent forward Marco Rossi, but the club had their trade offer rejected a little over a week before the NHL Entry Draft, which included the 15th overall selection.
"As first reported by The Athletic's Mike Russo, Postmedia has confirmed the Canucks have tried to pry the young centre away from the Wild in a trade, offering up their 15th overall draft pick in next week's NHL Entry Draft, plus a player. Whether that player is on the NHL roster or a prospect isn't currently known." Patrick Johnston of The Province said.
Insider gives big update regarding Vancouver Canucks trade target Marco Rossi
As we enter the final seven days of July, there are still a number of restricted free agents still unsigned, some of whom are heading to arbitration, while others like Marco Rossi and Mason McTavish - who Vancouver is also interested in - aren't eligible for that this summer and their wait for new contracts continues.
Rossi had a great year for the Wild, setting a new career-high in points with 60, 20 more than the previous season, but his ice time dropped off significantly in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, leaving him quite frustrated, and so far this summer, the two sides can't seem to agree on the term and value of his next deal.
During a recent appearance on Bleacher Report Open Ice, National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli gave an update on where things stand between the Minnesota Wild and Marco Rossi, revealing that we won't see an offer sheet for the Austrian forward this summer.
"Not going to see one, that's the answer. I don't think anyone would be willing to step up and pay for an undersized center that is looking for, like I don't think they could present any number that would scare off the Minnesota Wild. It would have to be a long-term deal, a five-year deal, it would probably have to look like something like $9.5-10 million a year and at that point, I think, depending on what the compensation thresholds are, I don't have them in front of me, but the compensation thresholds, you would have to present something that would also throw your own cap out of wack and I guess I just don't see anyone stepping up to give Marco Rossi that type of number as an undersized center." Seravalli said.
With an offer sheet now off the table, it leaves three scenarios - Rossi signs a new contract with the Wild; Minnesota trades him to another team or Rossi decides to head overseas to Europe to play for the 2025-26 season, while the Wild retain his rights as they issued him a qualifying offer in late June.
It certainly feels like the most likely scenario in this case is that cooler heads will prevail and that the Wild and Rossi will be able to agree to terms on a new contract at some point before training camp, but on the off chance they don't it's going to be interesting to see what teams emerge, or even re-emerge, on the trade front.
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