Trade #2
Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils
Marco Rossi shouldn't be available for a trade, but Michael Russo of The Athletic keeps reiterating he believes the Minnesota Wild will eventually trade Rossi. Per Russo, he doesn't believe Rossi is a player the Wild will commit to long-term:
"My biggest concern is that I think that this isn’t just the coaching staff. I think it’s upstairs too. I am still convinced that they are going to trade him. I don’t know when, I don’t know if it’s imminent, or you know, by the deadline or next summer. I just think that they do not feel like he’s the player to commit to long term.”"Michael Russo - Worst Seats in the House
Rossi is having an excellent season, with 11 goals and 25 points in 31 games — a similar rate of production to McCann. His five-on-five numbers look outstanding, too.
Rossi has an expected goals share (xG%) of 59.24 percent, second on the Wild to Joel Eriksson Ek. He's also been their third-most efficient five-on-five scorer, averaging 2.09 per 60 minutes.
Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald stated he could look to add a fourth-line center ahead of the trade deadline. But what about a top-nine forward like Rossi, who pushes Erik Haula down the lineup?
Rossi checks that box. He will be a restricted free agent this summer and will certainly get a pay raise. You might not want to tie up that much money in one position with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier still having plenty of term.
But my rebuttal is the salary cap ceiling should hit $100 million in the next couple of years, and Rossi is unlikely to cost more than Hughes and Hischier on a new contract. Plus, you'd be clearing Mercer's $4 million cap hit, so money shouldn't be an issue, even with Luke Hughes due a big payday.
A 1-2-3 punch of Hughes, Hischier and Rossi down the middle would be tough to beat and is a move to consider if you're going to trade Mercer.
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick