Wild hit with another key injury, and this one could force Guerin's hand

The last thing the Minnesota Wild needed was another injury to a key forward, but that's exactly what they've been hit with. A week after winger Mats Zuccarello returned from an extended absence, first-line center Marco Rossi will now be sidelined for a little while by a lower-body injury, according to insider Michael Russo.

Per Russo, it'll be a "couple weeks at least" for Rossi, who has apparently been playing through this injury for nearly a month. Head coach John Hynes labeled him as week-to-week on Friday.

Rossi has scored four goals and collected 13 total points in 17 games this season. He had 11 points in the first 11 games of the season, but had just two in the last six. The 24-year-old is coming off a career-high 60-point season in 2024-25. After months of negotiation and speculation, he agreed to sign a three-year, $15 million bridge contract in late August.

With Rossi out, Russo believes 21-year-old rookie Danila Yurov could get his best opportunity yet to move up the lineup and seize a consistent role. Yurov, one of the organization's top prospects, has two goals and no assists in 13 appearances this season, but he's averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time per game in a fourth-line role.

In Friday's practice, Yurov centered the third line between fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko and Vinnie Hinostroza. These were the full lines without Rossi, with Ryan Hartman moving up from the third line to the first:

1. Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
2. Marcus Johansson-Joel Eriksson Ek-Matt Boldy
3. Vladimir Tarasenko-Danila Yurov-Vinnie Hinostroza
4. Marcus Foligno-Ben Jones-Yakov Trenin

The other thing Rossi's injury could do is force general manager Bill Guerin's hand in terms of adding a top-six forward, ideally a center. The Wild would love to see Yurov emerge and thrive, but that's no guarantee. And with their offense already struggling, losing Rossi could lead to even more difficulty scoring goals.

18 games into the season, the Wild are 7-7-4 and don't currently occupy a playoff spot. They bounced back nicely from a brutal start by winning four of their first five games in November before an overtime loss against the Sharks on Tuesday.

Despite being in win-now mode, the Wild are 25th in the league in goals scored per game (2.78) and 22nd in goals allowed (3.28). So far, they haven't provided much reason to think that they're anywhere close to being a team capable of winning a playoff series.

After a quiet offseason, there have been plenty of rumors and speculation about Guerin going out and making an impact addition in the trade market, and perhaps sooner than later. With Rossi set to be out for a bit, now might be the time to do it. The Wild can't afford another stretch like they had in the second half of October.

Minnesota has back-to-back games this weekend at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. The Wild host the Ducks (11-5-1) on Saturday and the Golden Knights (7-4-5) on Sunday. Both games are at 5:00 p.m. CT.