The Minnesota Wild’s offseason has officially began, thanks to their first postseason-less finish since the 2018-19 season. So, we’re looking to the future. We found out yesterday that an out of shape Filip Gustavsson is on the Wild trade block, but he isn’t the only one.
Minnesota Wild dangling Marco Rossi on trade block
According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), so is Calder Trophy candidate, Marco Rossi. This, after an incredible rookie season where he potted 21 goals to go with 19 assists and he mostly ended talks that he could wind up being a bust 1st-round draft pick.
Rossi has had an extremely impressive rookie season, worthy of the local PHWA chapter’s Masterton Trophy nomination. He’s taken a huge jump from a year ago, with his summer dedication serving as an example to some notable veterans in this lineup of what should be expected this offseason. But it’s not extremely farfetched to think that the Wild would listen on Rossi if the right offer came their way. If they could get a top young player back that brought more size and speed, they could be persuaded to pull the trigger.
Michael Russo – The Athletic
Remember, Russo first floated Rossi as a possible trade chip for president of hockey operations, Bill Guerin, back in March and it looks like a possibility worth watching all offseason, either until a deal happens or training camp starts.
Liam Ohgren’s path into the Wild’s top 6 next season
The outlook on forward, Liam Ohgren, was much more positive. Not only does Russo see Ohgren on the Wild’s roster in St. Paul next year, he sees a legitimate path for him to break into the top-6. Liam played four games in a Wild sweater, after arriving from Sweden just a couple weeks ago. He scored one goal and assisted on another.
Ohgren has been very impressive in his first few games with the Wild, with Hynes indicating the Swede has shown he can make an impact in the NHL. The size, the shot, the skating. It’s not a stretch to think Ohgren could slip into the top six for some reps, something that occurred Thursday on the left of Marco Rossi and Zuccarello.
“Liam has made a strong case for himself,” Hynes said. “His speed and pace is NHL. He’s got good strength to him in the competition battles of the game. He’s got a power-play element to him. And he seems like he’s getting more and more comfortable in a short period of time.”
Michael Russo – The Athletic
While Minnesota feels comfortable with where Ohgren is at, should they have to rely on him as their 2nd-line LW in 2024-25, Russo reports that they’d prefer to find more veteran talent that could push him down the depth chart a bit.
Again, I get that Bill Guerin wants to win, but trading your best young talent doesn’t feel like the right way to go about it. With that being said, there aren’t a lot of hockey people I trust who see Rossi as a star-level ceiling kind of center.
And believe it or not, the Wild suddenly have a lot of promising young talent up the middle, throughout the organization. So… I can also see why Billy might be comfortable, even if it doesn’t lead to a requisite offer, with dangling Rossi, who might be peaking in trade value.
I guess we’ll find out how the rest of the league feels about Marco soon enough.
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