Player Discussion Marco Rossi

[AKL]

Absolutely. I think they're two totally different situations though, with Rossi coming off his ELC, the buyout penalties dropping down to under 2M, and the cap going up 24-25 million over the next three years.

If Rossi looks like a stud in the playoffs, I'm sure BG will keep him. He doesn't seem to like shaking up the roster too much.

Well I think part of the rub is that none of the guys Guerin has extended look like studs in the playoffs, and they still got extensions. I mean, there's only one guy in this entire organization that looks like a stud come playoff time. So what does Rossi need to do, exactly, in the playoffs to earn the extension everyone else got?

But it is a different situation. Fiala would have required us to move someone to fit a 7-8M contract, he was a winger on a team who was thought to have fairly deep wings at the time, he had on-ice issues at times, and there were even some rumors that he wasn't so easy to work with off-ice.

Signing Rossi doesn't require us to move anyone to fit a 7-8M contract, he's the best center on a team with very, very little center depth, and he has no on- or off-ice issues whatsoever.

It's a no brainer to extend Rossi instead of trading him at this point. We don't need D, W or G more than we need C, and the chances of us getting a better C in a trade are slim to none, unless we take a big hit on age or term, neither of which are good for us.

 

[Sota Popinski]

Well I think part of the rub is that none of the guys Guerin has extended look like studs in the playoffs, and they still got extensions. I mean, there's only one guy in this entire organization that looks like a stud come playoff time. So what does Rossi need to do, exactly, in the playoffs to earn the extension everyone else got?

I have no clue, but his play in the regular season hasn't been lacking. And Russo has said that Rossi's name has been involved in trade talks over the past couple seasons. So I'm assuming that Guerin can only be convinced that Rossi's size isn't an issue if he proves it in the playoffs.

It's less a matter of keep or trade than player valuation. When we traded for Jiricek, Guerin called it "an investment." In today's article he said "you like a certain player at 4M, you don't like him so much at 7M." He would have extended Fiala at a certain price, but traded him when he wanted more. Based off all that I think they have a pretty rigid system for evaluating what a player is worth and aren't willing to stray too much from it. Which I think is great if your valuations are accurate. Guerin has done a fantastic job with trades and a mediocre job with contracts.

 

[AKL]

It's less a matter of keep or trade than player valuation. When we traded for Jiricek, Guerin called it "an investment." In today's article he said "you like a certain player at 4M, you don't like him so much at 7M." He would have extended Fiala at a certain price, but traded him when he wanted more. Based off all that I think they have a pretty rigid system for evaluating what a player is worth and aren't willing to stray too much from it.

I agree with this. I like Brock Nelson at 4M for 1-2 years, I don't like him at 7M for any amount of time. So I'm not saying this is a bad way to do things. It's a great way to do things.

Which I think is great if your valuations are accurate.

This is the part I don't trust Guerin to do well enough.

Guerin has done a fantastic job with trades and a mediocre job with contracts.

This I fully agree with.


I think Guerin's processes are generally good, I think the inputs he provides the processes with are what's flawed. His personal opinion on what's valuable, his personal opinion on what's worth how much is what I disagree with in regard to his GMing.

 

[Belcaster]

I think Guerin's processes are generally good, I think the inputs he provides the processes with are what's flawed. His personal opinion on what's valuable, his personal opinion on what's worth how much is what I disagree with in regard to his GMing.

I agree with this. My problem with the Fiala situation is that he essentially offered him one number and when Fiala didn't take it he was like "well, alright, see ya later bucko"

Guerin is definitely kind of an old school guy. He seems to give a lot of grace/respect/money to older journeyman who play that physical game of yesteryear and then nickel and dime younger, skill-forward players. He clearly believes in the less quantifiable benefits of having a guy like Ryan Reaves or Ryan Hartman on your squad, just as much as he believes in the points Marco Rossi is putting up in front of our faces. Unsure if any of you listened to Guerin on Barreiro last year but Guerin said that he "Hates" the way a lot of younger people play hockey. He's more like Tortorella than people think, I believe. He's reported to like JT Miller and Brock Nelson but isn't convinced about Marco Rossi.

I don't think Russo is making anything up, if anything Russo has been befuddled as to why the organization gives him tough love. He even revealed that Rossi was outright offered at different points to Arizona, Columbus, and Philadelphia.

Guerin's not done a bad job in the big chair here, but he's definitely old school and I think his philosophies are very questionable sometimes. It's reported/speculated that he wants Brock Nelson and Yurov on the team next year, which is well and good, but if he does that then where does Rossi fit in? He's the odd man out. I'd rather just resist the urge to bring in Nelson and roll with Rossi, playing Yurov on the wing.

Kaprizov - Rossi - Zuccarello
Boldy - JEE - Yurov

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Perhaps BG wouldn't have had to worry about Rossi asking for that much money if he had given him the same treatment that he gave Hartman, Freddy, and Zucc. He could have signed him already. Instead, he has dragged his feet, Rossi has played great, and the kid's price goes up.

It's almost like Guerin is trying to create an excuse by waiting, so he can tell the fans, "Its not my fault. We just can't afford him."

What even is this comparison? Rossi will be RFA and this is his second season as a full time NHLer. Hartman's contract was $1.9MM as a UFA for us. Freddy signed with the Wild for $1.2MM as a UFA. Zuccarello was a premier signing UFA and then extended well below his market value. All three of those guys had a well established track record as professional athletes.

Young players have a much higher variance in expected performance outcomes, Rossi has taken more steps forward as a player, and will likely be paid more as a result, that is a good thing for everyone involved. GMs don't want to drastically under pay their employees, that just leads to malcontents.

I personally still would not go term on Rossi unless he is fine with something in the $7MM range, the fact of the matter is that he is not an elite 1C at the moment and he doesn't project to ever be that, so why rush into locking up a guy before he has clearly solified his floor value?