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The Minnesota Wild are entering this offseason with arguably one of the most attractive trade pieces in their organization. All signs point to the Wild moving on from 23-year-old forward Marco Rossi with his name already appearing in the rumor mill.
While the Wild will do what they can to pull off a move, there seems to be one pretty big obstacle in the way. According to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, Rossi’s contract demands might force certain teams to walk away from trade talks.
“Rossi’s camp is looking for a contract similar to that of Matthew Boldy in the seven-year, $49 million range,” Di Marco said. “By all accounts, that price is too expensive for GM Bill Guerin’s taste, and he has at least begun to take calls on Rossi.”
If that price is too rich for Guerin’s blood, there are sure to be other general managers with the same feeling.
Di Marco notes that the Wild have been in touch with the Philadelphia Flyers for quite some time regarding a possible Rossi trade. The Flyers, however, have continued to look in other directions, citing Rossi’s contract demand as a sticking point.
“According to a team source, the Wild were asking for one of the later-round picks last season when the two sides engaged briefly on Rossi discussions,” Di Marco writes. “The Flyers had no appetite for it then and remain steadfast in the same belief now. Furthermore, the 7×7 contract demand from the Rossi camp has also scared off the Flyers from even reaching out to the Wild to talk trade at this time.”
Some teams might find value in a 23-year-old with a ton of upside at that price. With the salary cap expected to grow exponentially over the next three seasons, $7 million for a 20+ goal scorer might become the norm.
At least for the Flyers, that’s too much for Rossi and is talents. Rossi is still a developing player and has a ton of room to grow, but it’s not a guarantee the five-foot-nine center reaches his full potential.
There will certainly be teams interested, it's just a question of who will be willing to take on the possible high contract demand?
More must-reads:
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