Bill Guerin: Wild prepared to match offer sheet for Marco Rossi

Wild GM Bill Guerin is prepared to match any offer sheet that comes in for talented 23-year-old center Marco Rossi, he said on Tuesday. Guerin said he's "not concerned" about the possibility of another team trying to come in and poach Rossi because he's prepared if that scenario happens.

"I think when you've seen them in the past be successful, maybe the teams weren't fully prepared. Yeah, we are prepared for it," said Guerin. "We'd rather make a deal with Marco. I've said it before, we like Marco. He had a very good year for us. He's a very good hockey player."

Over the past year, Rossi and the team have not been able to agree on a new long-term deal, which has led to the possibility that he may be traded this offseason. Minnesota issued Rossi a qualifying offer on Monday, meaning they have right of refusal or would receive draft compensation if another team should sign the player to an offer sheet.

Rossi tallied 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) last season for the Wild after making the All-Rookie team with 40 points in 2023-24. He appears to be an ascending player, but there are some questions about his long-term upside due to his size (5'9", 182).

With cap space now available for the first time in several years, the Wild could ink Rossi to a long-term deal and make him a key part of the future of the team. Guerin emphasized on Tuesday that if a deal does get done, it's going to be on the Wild's terms.

"We have a structure in our pay that we have him slotted in at a certain level and that's just the way we're doing our business," continued Guerin. "This is nothing personal. We want him back. We'll hopefully get a resolution sooner, rather than later."

While Rossi's contract situation has been looming over the team for much of the past year, Guerin reiterated that locking up star forward Kirill Kaprizov to a long-term deal is still "priority number one."

Guerin said he has been in constant communication with Kaprizov's representatives and that the two sides will "just keep moving forward."