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Jan 11, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi (23) plays the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Newly Extended Wild Center Will Outperform Latest Deal

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 3:29 PM ET

The Minnesota Wild finally came to an agreement with restricted free agent center Marco Rossi. It took nearly the entire offseason, but Rossi is locked in with a new, three-year contract. The deal is worth a total of $15 million, earning him an average annual salary of $5 million.

It's a bargain of a deal for the Wild. Rossi is poised to outperform this deal. It will be a huge compliment to the Minnesota franchise for the next three seasons, but it's also setting up the potential for him to take a significant increase in pay when he hits unrestricted free agency. In the meantime, Wild general manager Bill Guerin believes the next few years will showcase just how much more Rossi can display at the NHL level.

"Marco’s shown steady progress," Guerin said. "He went through a lot as a young player, coming through those COVID years and things like that, but he’s shown improvement every year and we hope he just continues to do that. I think he’s just kind of scratching the surface, and I think this three-year contract gives him a good runway to really turn into the player that he can eventually become."

Rossi is coming off a 24-goal, 60-point season for Minnesota, but there's even more production to unlock. The former top-10 draft pick has become one of the Wild's best forwards, and he's poised to be the first-line pivot in the upcoming campaign.

"It feels good now," Rossi said after signing his new contract. "It was a good summer, I could train a lot, but in the back of your head, you know your contract is up and you always hear the talks from your agent and everything. I just tried to control what I can control, and that was training and everything. But I feel good now and can’t wait to go back to Minny and see the boys."

Despite a 5'9, 180-pound frame, Rossi is a nuisance around the net. In addition to being swift and creative with the puck on his stick, he's unafraid to go to the net and utilize his lower-body strength to gain position. Rossi recorded 136 shots on goal last season, 67 of those shots came from the high-danger areas, according to NHL EDGE. That's nearly 50% of his total shots on goal.

Unsurprisingly, he made good on those opportunities as well. Out of his 67 high-danger shots on goal, he converted on 18 chances. That's 75% of his total goals scored from within 30 feet of the goal crease.

It's a trend that is likely to continue for Rossi. The wingers he'll play with excel with the puck on their sticks as well. It forces Rossi to continue relying on his net-front presence and ability to win in the dirty areas of the offensive zone. Last season, he played nearly 300 minutes of ice time with wingers Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello. Both wingers are play-driving forwards, leaving Rossi the chance to clean up the mess and continue improving as a two-way center in Minnesota. If he does so, Rossi will easily and greatly outperform the latest contract he signed.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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