Marco Rossi Should Be a Top RFA Target for the New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils' general manager Tom Fitzgerald made it clear in his end-of-the-season press conference that changes were coming for his team. The biggest one is adding more depth scoring. The Devils got just three total points from their bottom six in the playoffs (Stefan Noesen, one goal, one assist; Paul Cotter, one assist). The Devils will certainly look to trades as well as unrestricted free agency to improve this, but there's also the restricted free agency route. With the salary cap increasing, more offer sheets are likely to occur.

One name stands out that New Jersey needs to pursue, and that's Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild. Rossi is a player the Devils could have drafted back in 2020. Instead, New Jersey took Alexander Holtz while Rossi went two picks later to Minnesota. Since then, Holtz has been dealt to Vegas after a disappointing stretch with the Devils, while Rossi has become a reliable two-way forward. He's expected to be available for trade, but also could just be given an offer sheet by another team, given that Rossi and the Wild seem to be at different ends. Fitzgerald, without question, needs to make a move to bring the Austrian forward to New Jersey.

Rossi ended his rookie season of 2023-24 putting up 21 goals and 40 points, while playing in all 82 games that season for the Wild. This past campaign, he took a step forward, finishing with 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games. Rossi has proven that he can become a 30-goal scorer if his development keeps going up. He's also proven to be reliable, as he, very similar to Dawson Mercer, has yet to miss a game in his young NHL career. He would also give the Devils another guy who plays well five-on-five.

Rossi averages 1.73 points per 60 minutes through his first two seasons. In addition to that, the Wild appear to do a good job of controlling the play when Rossi is on the ice, as they boast an expected goals share of 53.11. Simply put, he makes a significant impact when he is on the ice. Adding Rossi to the Devils will help strengthen the team down the middle while also having a guy who can play in the top six if need be.

While he is considered to be "undersized" with his 5'9", he is not a small player. He's 195 pounds and is not afraid to get into dirty areas to make plays. What I'm getting at is that he is not someone who can be easily pushed around and moved off the puck. Rossi has tremendous puck-handling and playmaking abilities to get the puck to the team's scorers. On top of that, as proven by his 45 goals already, he can put the puck in the back of the net. This can come from five-on-five, power play, wrist shot, and even tipping the puck in front.

Rossi also brings a solid defensive game to the table, which will work great in Devils' head coach Sheldon Keefe's system. At just 23 years of age, Rossi still has a lot more room to grow, and adding him to a talented, contending Devils team could help skyrocket his development.

When it comes to how New Jersey can acquire him, there are a few ways. The first is that they can offer him as an RFA. A bridge deal would be too easy for the Wild to match. However, offering him a long-term contract would make it much more likely for him to sign. According to AFP Analytics, Rossi is projected to get a 7-year deal at $7.4 million AAV in a long-term contract. I would doubt that if the Devils can get the cap space and offer him that deal that the Wild would match it. If that's the case, the Devils would have to give up a first-round pick and a third-round pick in 2026. In my opinion, it's worth doing that.

The other option is to trade for him in either a sign-and-trade or just acquire his rights and then negotiate with Rossi and his team. A sign-and-trade would force the Devils to give up more than just acquiring his signing rights. It's tough to know exactly what New Jersey would have to give up or what the Wild would want, given that there hasn't been a player like Rossi as an RFA available like this. When looking at the options, the better route for Fitzgerald and the Devils is to offer sheet Rossi, sign him, and give up just picks. Opening up salary cap space is something the Devils are doing regardless, and there's a possibility that the Devils could have enough to acquire the young centerman.

Marco Rossi is a great fit for the Devils, and Fitzgerald needs to look deeply into poaching him from the Wild. If that happens, the Devils' depth will strengthen a lot and will make them a force down the middle for years to come.