Rossi & Wild Might Settle On Bridge Deal

The Minnesota Wild are still one of the teams trying to get a talented young player signed ahead of training camp. Marco Rossi and the Wild aren't particularly close on the money as they are around $2 million difference per year with Rossi wanting around $7 million AAV and the Wild not wanting to go over $5 million AAV.

I think that the Wild are in the wrong here as they have seen Rossi take big strides since getting healthy and coming into the NHL, scoring 24 goals and 60 points last season. During the playoffs, an interesting decision was made to play Rossi lower in the lineup when the center position is arguably the weakest on the team. Moving forward with a 1-2 punch of Joel Eriksson Ek and Rossi would be beneficial for the team with the stars Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on the wings.

The AAV usually goes up for better players when signing long-term because they can't take advantage of the cap being much higher at any point during their contract. Bridge deals allow the AAV to stay lower for a shorter time until someone like Rossi could without a doubt prove his worth by doing what he did multiple more times. Frank Seravalli said, "where's that contract going to come in? I could see something like 2x$6 million, just kind of kick the can down the road...and also not inhibit them from trading him."

A two-year deal could definitely work with the AAV sitting right in the middle. While I understand the $5 million AAV being a bit of a lowball and a starter because Rossi won't accept that low, he also finished last season with the third-most goals on the team and the second-most points. The Wild have enough money to satisfy him, and if they were going to be cap-strapped, they shouldn't have brought in Vladimir Tarasenko's full contract after a tough season.

If the Wild and Rossi were on better terms negotiating a deal, I could see a long-term contract being struck. But seeing as the two sides stopped communication for a while and they are thinking differently about the short-term and long-term role on the team, it isn't easy. The Wild could easily bury Rossi lower in the lineup again after signing a short-term deal and then it will be tougher for him to cash in after his next deal expires. A trade is definitely an option with a short-term deal, but the Wild will regret not locking him up long-term and playing him in the top-6.

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