The New Jersey Devils want to upgrade their forward group this offseason. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald made strides in upgrading the defense and goaltending last offseason, adding Jacob Markstrom, Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and Johnny Kovacevic to the roster. The Devils had a good-to-great time shutting down opponents, but the offense when into the tank.
Despite having stats like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier on the roster, they scored just 149 goals at 5v5 this past season. They were actually outscored at even strength. When looking at the time after the New Year, only the Minnesota Wild scored fewer 5v5 goals than the Devils' 69.
The scoring dried up after the top six, and teams found it easy to play matchups against them. The Devils did have a great power play, but when that failed in the playoffs, they couldn't get the goals to win games. That's why the Carolina Hurricanes were able to dispatch them in five games.
The Devils will be active in adding offense, and the best solution in the restricted free agent market is a guy they probably should have drafted in the first place. Marco Rossi was available when the Devils took Alexander Holtz in the 2020 NHL Draft, and hindsight is really hurting our feelings there. Holtz is struggling to make Vegas' lineup, while Rossi just enjoyed his first 60-point season.
Now, Rossi is looking for his next contract, which has the Minnesota Wild scoffing and possibly looking for a trade. The reports say Rossi could be looking for a contract that's equal to Matthew Boldy, who was given a seven-year deal worth $7 million per season.
Further to Anthony’s reporting here, I’m hearing Rossi’s camp is looking for a similar deal to Matt Boldy. All indications are he’s asking for something in the 7x7 range. https://t.co/RNMAXfPVGC
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) May 29, 2025
Marco Rossi is too expensive for the New Jersey Devils this offseason
That contract would be very hard for the Devils to swallow. It would take any manueverability the Devils have for a player that is still a question mark.
Rossi is going to be 24 years old going into next season, and he just put up his first 60-point season. He hasn't yet hit 30 goals in a season. He is smaller for a forward at 5'9. He plays much bigger, but the Devils already have a player like that in Jesper Bratt, and Bratt is better than Rossi.
The Devils should ask Rossi's camp if they would accept a seven-year deal in the $6 million range. It sounds silly to walk away from a player that works over $1 million in cap space, but think about the impact adding Rossi would bring. The Devils likely have to trade Dawson Mercer to make it happen. Say what you want about Mercer's season, but he's a player who still has a ceiling, and he could be a 60-point player if he gets back to the trajectory he was on two years ago.
If you remove Mercer and add Rossi, that's a net +24 points this past season. However, Mercer has two more years of experience than Rossi, and we've seen the worst of him already. Rossi might be set for a letdown, and he could have chemistry issues at his next spot.
The cost is too much if Rossi truly asks for $7 million per season. And if he's looking for seven years, then that takes an offer sheet off the table. Offer sheets take the total price of a contract and divides it by five if it exceeds five years. This would put him on the threshold that costs the Devils a 2026 first, second, and third-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick. If they signed him to a 5x$7 million deal in an offer sheet, it would only cost them a 2026 first and third-round pick.
The cost for doing business is too great to make Rossi work this season. In most years, this is the type of risk a team like the Devils should take, but this year is too important to spend all their available capital on one player. They have too many other needs in this forward group.