It appears that there is some incremental progress in regards to the Minnesota Wild signing one of their forwards to a new contract. No, it’s not the gestating extension for Kiril Kaprizov, but a resolution for a more pressing deal. According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Wild and restricted free agent Marco Rossi could be closing in on a bridge deal for the 23-year-old forward.
The two sides have been in a summer-long stalemate in regard to the young forward’s next contract. General manager Bill Guerin has asserted all along that he wants to retain the services of the Austrian, who set a career-high with 24 goals last season. He allegedly turned down an offer of the 15th overall pick from Vancouver around the draft, and has maintained his stance that the Wild like the services of Rossi and want to sign him long-term.
Earlier in the year Rossi and his camp rejected a five-year, $25 million contract and it’s long been assumed that he is looking for a deal similar to the 7-year, $7 million-per-season deal that Matt Boldy signed a few seasons ago. At this point, a bridge deal would be the most plausible resolution to the deal as it would give Rossi a fairly hefty raise over the $832,500 salary he was making last year (he also had $850,000 in performance bonuses according to PuckPedia), which, if earned, brought his total to $1,682,500). It would also give the Wild a chance to make sure Rossi can maintain the goal-scoring he showed over the last two seasons without tying them to a long-term contract.
With a wealth of young talent moving through the system and getting close to the tailend of their entry-level contracts, it also gives other players in the Wild system a roadmap of how Guerin will handle their future deals. It’s a positive having so many young players earning spots on the roster, but it’s also a delicate balance financially, even with the cap expected to go up over the next few seasons.
While handing out long-term, high-money extensions (as Chicago did today with Frank Nazer) to all of the top prospects seems to make sense, the harsh reality is that they aren’t all going to pan out as NHL all-stars. Locking the right players into long-term deals is what can take a franchise to the next level, but signing players that don’t reach their full potential into multi-year deals can be just as damaging. Guerin has to decide exactly which players comprise the core of the Wild’s future. He’s made the gamble that Boldy and Brock Faber are two of those pieces, but is Rossi another? What about Liam Ohgren or Zeev Buium?
Hovering over all of this is the Kaprizov extension. The Wild’s GM is waiting until his superstar is back in the United States to fire those talks up again, just to ensure nothing is lost in translation. While the time table in order to get a new deal done is stretched out longer than in Rossi’s case, the eventual size of Kaprizov’s cap hit does factor into how much Rossi or David Jiricek (who is a RFA next season) or Ohgren (RFA in 2027) get in their next deal. Filip Gustavsson also needs a new deal after this season, and his impact on the team might be just as important as Kaprizov’s.
Signing Rossi is just one piece in the greater puzzle that Guerin has to put together. So, on a bridge deal, exactly how big of a piece is Rossi? According to Evolving Hockey’s projections, a two-year deal for Marco Rossi would carry a cap hit of about $4,714,000 while a three-year deal would come in around $5,262,000.
For comparison, Alex Laferriere, a 23-year-old center with Los Angeles, just signed a two-year deal with a $4.1 million hit, and he has less experience and production in the NHL than Rossi. Rossi could opt for the short-term deal with the expectation of hitting the jackpot if he continues to produce the way he has in the regular season, and then adds some post-season success over the next couple of years.
As the start of training camp draws nearer, the Wild hold a little more leverage in the talks. After all, Rossi can’t prove that he’s worth a $6-7 million-a-year contract if he’s not on the ice. Taking the two-year deal in the $4-5 million range gives him a nice raise and the runway to show that he can continue to produce in the regular season and gives him a chance to raise his post-season profile, something that eclipsed his year as he saw limited ice time in the Wild’s first-round exit this spring.
The Wild are a better team with Marco Rossi on the top two lines, something that Bill Guerin has acknowledged. While trade rumors have warmed up over the last few days, it’s not likely that he can extract equal value for his number-two center. While the compensation received if another team signs Rossi to an offer sheet would be enticing, the Wild would likely have to flip some of those assets quickly in order to fill the hole on offense created by letting him leave.
Hopefully, Russo’s social media post portends better news on this front. With Rossi locked down for at least a couple of years, the Wild can figure out the framework of a long-term deal for Kaprizov. Should those domino’s fall into place, Minnesota fans will rest a lot easier.