The 2 Holdups In Minnesota Wild’s Contract Negotiation With Rossi

Marco Rossi has taken huge steps since entering the NHL after a shaky start to his post-draft career. The Minnesota Wild should be very happy with his results so far, but didn't use him in the best way come playoff time last season.

Rossi is a RFA and still without a contract. Negotiations are particularly close either as the team and player want very different things. Rossi has reportedly been offered a five-year, $5 million AAV deal, but considering the contract being signed around the league and comparables to him, that is far too low. At age 23, he is already, without a doubt, a top-6 center, and not just on the Wild.

According to Michael Russo, "I think he's (Rossi) a little worried about signing some sort of bridge deal...and then getting buried and not being able to prove himself fully...and hit that homerun contract next time." I think he should be able to hit that homerun contract right now as the Wild are in a position to quickly improve and have to after the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise cap hits dropped from $14 million in dead cap to a couple of million.

Rossi just put up 24 goals and 60 points and improved by three goals and 20 points from the season prior, his first full season in the NHL. He hasn't missed a game in the past two seasons and logged 18:15 of ice time per game last season. Centers are not easy to come by, and having Joel Eriksson Ek and Rossi as the top two centers going forward with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on the wing looks very good to me.

It is interesting why another team hasn't stepped in and tried to offer a seven-year deal on an offer sheet at more money than what Minnesota has. While the compensation would be high, a team expected to have later first-round picks and have money to spare could throw something nice at Rossi. The Wild would be able to match it if Rossi were to sign, but the question is if they want to since the two sides aren't close. This situation is something to continue to watch, but I don't see Rossi signing a 1-2 year deal after the season he just had. A 6-8 year deal is the only thing that makes sense for both sides.