Player Discussion Marco Rossi

[Luceni]

It were Hobbits who destroyed the ring in Mordor, not Elves, magicans or men. It's everything about size these days.

 

[EazyE1]

C'mon guys hes only an inch shorter than Patty Kane.

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

Could Marco Rossi be the answer to Utah HC's top-6 search?

Marco Rossi needs a change of scenery — and that's exactly what Utah offers.

www.deseret.com

On the Utah conection, how he could fit and what a possible trade could include

Wtf didn’t just read lol

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

Yes, Rossi should retire, there is no place for an undersized, 23-year old 60pt center in the NHL.

yeah, that’s what I said

 

[DigitalBoldy]

C'mon guys hes only an inch shorter than Patty Kane.

Patty Kane is a winger.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

This would've all been so much simpler if Yurov would've just stayed on the wing where he was drafted.

 

[AKL]

This would've all been so much simpler if Yurov would've just stayed on the wing where he was drafted.

I would even settle for a better GM/coach

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I would even settle for a better GM/coach

Even conceding a Nelson signing, which I know nobody wants, this actually doesn't look half bad:

Kaprizov - Rossi - Boldy
Yurov - Eriksson Ek - Zuccarello
Foligno/Ohgren - Nelson - Hartman

Rossi stays, Eriksson Ek gets "help", Yurov plays in the top 6. Boom shakalaka.

 

[AKL]

Even conceding a Nelson signing, which I know nobody wants, this actually doesn't look half bad:

Kaprizov - Rossi - Boldy
Yurov - Eriksson Ek - Zuccarello
Foligno/Ohgren - Nelson - Hartman

Rossi stays, Eriksson Ek gets "help", Yurov plays in the top 6. Boom shakalaka.

Right. We could still do that, actually. Just need a different GM/coach in charge.

I'm not actually wholly against a Nelson signing, I'm much more against moving Rossi and replacing him with Nelson.

 

[MrRuin]

there is a part of me that would really really like to see Rossi sign a short term deal to play ~two more years for the Wild just to see how he responds to all this adversity and how the Wild will play him, how he develops. If he could prove the doubters wrong. Somehow being traded and doing that somewhere else doesn't make for half as good a story.

 

[AKL]

I would even be willing to sign Nelson and move Rossi to the wing to become the scoring winger Guerin talked about in the conference.

Kaprizov-Ek-Boldy
Rossi-Yurov-Hartman
Öhgren-Nelson-Zuccarello
Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin

Not half bad

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

there is a part of me that would really really like to see Rossi sign a short term deal to play ~two more years for the Wild just to see how he responds to all this adversity and how the Wild will play him, how he develops. If he could prove the doubters wrong. Somehow being traded and doing that somewhere else doesn't make for half as good a story.

I don't think guys are too eager to sign bridges if there's questions about how they're going to be utilized. Obviously sometimes there's no choice, but it can be risky for the player.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I would even be willing to sign Nelson and move Rossi to the wing to become the scoring winger Guerin talked about in the conference.

Kaprizov-Ek-Boldy
Rossi-Yurov-Hartman
Öhgren-Nelson-Zuccarello
Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin

Not half bad

Did Rossi on the wing come up at all in the Guerin presser?

 

[AKL]

Did Rossi on the wing come up at all in the Guerin presser?

No one asked about that specifically, and they didn't allude to anything in their responses about him

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

This would've all been so much simpler if Yurov would've just stayed on the wing where he was drafted.

Just out of curiosity, do you think that if we had drafted Lundell instead of Rossi that this regime would be tripping overthemselves to trade Lundell because Yurov may be a center? Would they be tripping over themselves to sign Brock Nelson?

 

[AKL]

Just out of curiosity, do you think that if we had drafted Lundell instead of Rossi that this regime would be tripping overthemselves to trade Lundell because Yurov may be a center? Would they be tripping over themselves to sign Brock Nelson?

So why don't they sign the center they want and then move Rossi to wing if they don't like him at center?

Or, why not wait for him to keep developing and get better at the parts of his game they don't like? He's taken large steps each of the last two years already.

Why are they giving up on him so early?

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

So why don't they sign the center they want and then move Rossi to wing if they don't like him at center?

Or, why not wait for him to keep developing and get better at the parts of his game they don't like? He's taken large steps each of the last two years already.

Why are they giving up on him so early?

I think it's pretty simple even if we don't agree: they just don't like the player all to much.

 

[AKL]

I think it's pretty simple even if we don't agree: they just don't like the player all to much.

Yeah, and I just can't see a good reason not to like him as a developing young player, nor a good reason to give up on him this quickly. I think a good GM and a good coach would try to make it work with a 23yo 60pt center.

 

[Wabit]

Just out of curiosity, do you think that if we had drafted Lundell instead of Rossi that this regime would be tripping overthemselves to trade Lundell because Yurov may be a center? Would they be tripping over themselves to sign Brock Nelson?

TLDR $12-$14m for 2 of:
Rossi, Nelson, Boeser. Rossi out, but the backup plan if no Boeser or Nelson
Lundell, Nelson, Boeser. Nelson not considered

Playing the what if game.
If it was Lundell over Rossi.
-I don't think Nelson would be on the radar. Boeser is the main signing talk.
-Lundell would be a long term deal (basically the Nelson signing money), not trade bait.
-Yurov plays all the preseason games as a center and starts the 3rd line with Foligno/Yurov/Hartman.

Kap/JEE/Zucc (because we have to start the season witt Kap anc Zucc together)
Boldy/Lundell/Boeser
Foligno/Yurov/Hartman
Ohgren/Freddy G/Trenin

Injuries and the play of Zucc, Yurov, and Ohgren determine how the lines get shuffled after 5-10 games.

The team is still big game hunting for the ppg 1C after next season, but that is just the natural state of the Wild franchise. Kap re-signed and Zucc gone but that is about it for FWD changes due to how the contracts are set up.

Kap/JEE/Boldy
Yurov/Lundell/Boeser
Ohgren/Hartman/Foligno
Trenin/Freddy G/??? (can upgrade any FWD spot and Foligno or Hartman go to the 4th line)

Unless MN is behind the scenses tampering with Nelson and Boeser (or equivilent players) and know for sure they are signing here on July 1st. You hedge your bets and keep Rossi as the backup plan, then keep or trade him as needed.

 

[AKL]

Kap/JEE/Boldy
Yurov/Lundell/Boeser

See and I'm not sure that committing to a 35-45 point center as your 2C long term is actually better than using Rossi in that role.

 

[AKL]

Anyone can sit here and say he's too small to be a center, or he's too bad of a skater. He can't be an effective center, whatever.

It honestly rings pretty hollow at this point though. No one was saying anything like that when he was being an effective center for the first several months of the season.

First 35 games of the season, up until Kaprizov went down, he had 28 points and was +11.

Next 12 games, when Kaprizov was out, he had 12 points and was +4.

The 3 games Kaprizov played before his surgery, he had 4 points and was +4.

The next 10 games after that, through the end of February, he had 7 points and was -2.

On February 28th, through 60 games, Rossi had 51 points, and the team was 34-22-4, 3rd in the central.

It's really hard to argue that those aren't the stats of an effective player.

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

Yeah, and I just can't see a good reason not to like him as a developing young player, nor a good reason to give up on him this quickly. I think a good GM and a good coach would try to make it work with a 23yo 60pt center.

I don't have a defined preference for what to do with him without knowing what a bridge deal and long term deal would look like, who the Wild could realistically sign in free agency, and what Marco could return in a trade. But, to play devils advocate, I think their perspective on it is that he's more of a complementary player on the top two lines when he's on there. He does a really good job of not blowing up plays, but he doesn't make things happen himself very often. His skating and size combination is a limitation at this level. In junior he could have the puck on his stick all the time. In the NHL he pretty much gets the puck and gets it off his stick as quick as possible and then moves to the net. He's a valuable player no doubt, but I look at him, and I think management looks at him this way, as more of a complementary player who can play with good players rather than a true line driver. When Matt Boldy get's the puck on his stick, it feels a lot different. Marco Rossi as a player is a great fit for this team long term because of all the reasons I just described. He can play with Kapizov and/or Boldy and not slow them down, but he want's to be paid as a line driver. When we talk about him as a 60 point 23yo center, we all know what the compareables for that look like. It's an expensive contract. They don't want to pay that for a guy that to this point has been a complementary player. And, to be quite honest, I agree. I don't lose sleep at night thinking he's going to become some point per game center somewhere else. I just think there's options to get the value Rossi bring on a much cheaper contract, and, if you think Guerin is into that type of thing, in a bigger body. I understand that people may disagree with that and it's fine and I completely respect that. If there was the option to bridge him, I would be willing to do it, but it makes no sense for Rossi's camp to do that. They will want to capitalize on the 23yo 60 point center high.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Just out of curiosity, do you think that if we had drafted Lundell instead of Rossi that this regime would be tripping overthemselves to trade Lundell because Yurov may be a center? Would they be tripping over themselves to sign Brock Nelson?

I do not. I think it's height thing. Why now and not at the draft? Don't have a clue.

 

[KaprizovSaveUs]

I do not. I think it's height thing. Why now and not at the draft? Don't have a clue.

I think it's more than height, but you're right if he played the exact same game but was 6'2 I'm certain we're not having this conversation.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I think it's more than height, but you're right if he played the exact same game but was 6'2 I'm certain we're not having this conversation.

6'0" and I'm pretty certain we're not having this conversation.