Devils Should Pursue Marco Rossi via Trade

To an extent, their apprehension is understandable. The 2024-25 campaign was only Rossi’s second full go as an NHLer; he scored 40 points in his first full season (2023-24). He’s also one of the smallest players in the league at 5-foot-9, which raises some questions about how he will perform in the playoffs. He held his own with two goals and an assist in six playoff games this season, but it’s too small of a sample to tell *too* much from.

There are two factors that come into play when considering that the Devils should absolutely make a move here. First, the cap is only going to continue to go up: $7.5 million in 2025-26; another $8.5 million in the 2026-27 season and then $9.5 million in the 2027-28 season.

The Devils have Jack Hughes locked up through 2029-30 and Hischier through 2026-27. In the meantime, they’d only need Rossi to be the 3C. While $7 million sounds like a lot for a third-line center, here’s how the rising cap would age the contract better by year:

The average salary of the 13 players older than 24 who scored between 58-62 points this season was $6.31 million. With the cap rising, $7 million, especially for a 23-year-old who could potentially reach higher point thresholds, does not really seem unreasonable. And there’s always the possibility that the ask from Rossi’s camp lowers a bit as well.

Furthermore, the advanced data from Rono Hockey shows that despite his size, there aren’t many weaknesses to his game. He was an above average finisher (66th percentile – %ile), above average passer (71st %ile), drew penalties consistently (70th %ile) and was very solid defensively (70th %ile). NHL EDGE says his top skating speed of 22.81 miles per hour is in the league’s 75th percentile, which would have made him the fifth-fastest Devil, just ahead of Bratt.

Of course, nothing the Devils do this offseason is going to be without some cap space gymnastics. They’ll likely need to extend defenseman Luke Hughes and add another forward or two, regardless of whether they bring aboard someone like Rossi.

There will certainly be some tough decisions to make, such as maybe promoting Nico Daws to full-time backup goalie to save some money. They might have to deal one of Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey if they feel that’s what’s best, or ship out a bottom-six forward in a salary dump to free up space…Or all of the above, perhaps??

The Devils don’t have a first-round pick this year, but given how small of an ask a late first is in this draft, they can certainly make it work somehow. They have their first next season, which in their ideal world should be a late pick. They also have a couple seconds this year and a plethora of B-level prospects who may be enticing to the Wild.

Some will also wonder if Rossi would not want to be a third liner coming off a 60-point campaign, but he’s thrived on the wing at times. It’s possible the Devils could utilize him there instead, forming a dangerous 1-2 punch on the left side along with Bratt.

The next few weeks are going to be vital in shaping the future of the Devils. Frankly, they can’t afford any missteps, but they’re in a more fortunate position than most other teams with the bulk of their core staying for the long haul.