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Minnesota Wild Worst Fear on Marco Rossi May Come True

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 2:05 PM ET

As the NHL offseason starts to wind down, the Minnesota Wild still have to deal with the contract situation around young center Marco Rossi. Rossi is a restricted free agent, and the two sides haven't been able to come close to an agreement on a new deal.

The two parties have been in a stalemate all summer, and it's caused some tension to grow around the situation. This has led to all sorts of trade speculation around Rossi, and multiple teams have been trying to pry him from Minnesota.

As training camp gets started soon, there is some worry that Rossi could sit out of everything. And now, NHL insider Cam Robinson is reporting that this could happen, which would be the worst fear of the Wild.

Cam Robinson: Re Marco Rossi: Training camp will be kinda where rubber meets the road; are you gonna sit out? I think that's maybe the direction it is going in - Sekeres and Price (8/11)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) August 12, 2025

Minnesota likely doesn't want this to linger into the regular season, especially because the team doesn't want any unnecessary distractions. But the team has held firm in talks with the center, and they have a number set in any deal.

The Wild are likely trying to hold as much cap space open as possible due to the impending negotiations with star Kirill Kaprizov. But this could end up costing them Rossi, which would be a real detriment to the overall roster construction.

Last season, Rossi scored 24 goals and 36 assists for Minnesota over 82 regular-season games. The young player has started to come into his own, and he now wants to be paid for the production on the ice.

If Minnesota isn't careful, this situation could get even uglier, which could force them to trade away a very good player.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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