Can we offer Zucc like 5 millions to take an assistant coaching job so we can save his cap hit and open up his spot???
Minnesota Wild General Discussion 2024-25
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Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
Rossi is outpacing MiG by a good bit at the same point in their respective careers. Rossi might never be a #1C, but I'll take a #2C with the ability to score points.
MrRuin
Registered User
Rossi just played his first career Playoff game in his second NHL season. People get down on him - and prospects in general - WAY too quickly. Look at some of the current stars that play the game and how they performed in their first playoffs. The minority had an immediate impact and didn't need time to adjust. Look at Faber if you do not want to look beyond your own team. His step forward this year was smaller than Rossi's. People putting him on the same step as Mojo and other "finished" players need to not get ahead of themselves. Yes he ran out of steam, yes he is not playing his best hockey. But this guy is STILL LEARNING and if there is a player that will take everything he learns and experiences to heart and tries to improve on it during the summer it is Rossi. He has that work ethic.
I really really do not understand the constant throwing him under the bus and treating him as if he was a Veteran with a 6mil cap hit not playing up to par. He is on his friggin entry level contract! If the Wild will get rid of him for whatever reason I am pretty sure they will regret that they didn't give him more time to develop.
I really really do not understand the constant throwing him under the bus and treating him as if he was a Veteran with a 6mil cap hit not playing up to par. He is on his friggin entry level contract! If the Wild will get rid of him for whatever reason I am pretty sure they will regret that they didn't give him more time to develop.
He's in a top-6 role (1C for a good chink of the season). It's a putup or shutup spot in the lineup. (I picked Feb 1st as the cutoff because it seemed like a good cutoff date)
The first 52 games of the season the stats were great. 18g/46p +18
The last 30 games of the season the stats are terrible. 6g/14p (8p ES) -15
The last 30 games were mostly without Kap and JEE. So the flaws/weakpoints in his game were exposed.
Simply put I don't think you can be a Cup contender with Rossi as one of your top-6 centers, and he doesn't have the d-zone game to be a quality bottom-6 center. Maybe as a winger it would work, but that's just an in theory thing at this point.
There really hasn't been much chatter about his one Playoff game as the reason to trade him. He was pretty unremarkable. Other FWDs stood out (both good and bad) to get the praise/ire of the fanbase.
Granny at best had Parise and Pommer as wings and played in the Yeo trap system. Not really an apples to apples comparison to Kap and Boldy as wings and not playing in a trap system (not to mention a much higher scoring league overall).
MrRuin
Registered User
But - again - he is not a finished product. I do not get this "one and done" label being put on him. I would even go as far as say that the first 52 games you show here are actually what is possible with more preparation, more experience and where his actual potential might be. You guys choose the second part and base everything off on that. Ignoring his (very good) first year completely AND the major step he took during not all but very large parts of this season. Rossi has not hit his prime, this board giving up on him is way premature. The term "Sophomore slump" exists for a reason and Rossi has avoided this for quite a while.
That's the many million dollar question. If he's the near PPG player then he's worth $9m/yr if hes the .5PPG player then he's worth $5m/yr.
There is also the Kaprizov effect of boosting his linemates point totals. FFS Zucc, at his best, was a 60p/yr player prior to being on a line with Kap. The he starts being close to a PPG player over the span of 4 seasons in his mid 30s. That's on lines with the elite centers that inclue Rask, Hartman (34g/65p season wtf?), and Steel.
MrRuin
Registered User
Yeah understood. But no player has success in a vacuum. Or let’s say very few have. See Rantanen as latest example. The thing is: Rossi has been working well here in MN, all through the lineup. His consistency has been a big plus in those ~50 odd games. If you want you could say it even worked through the rest of the game just on a lower level.
I also don’t see it as a negative if you have players playing better with certain players. You need 3 to form a line in the NHL.
The whole negativity surrounding Rossi seems to have its roots in the speculation of the money his agent may or may bot be asking for in contract negotiations.
I also don’t see it as a negative if you have players playing better with certain players. You need 3 to form a line in the NHL.
The whole negativity surrounding Rossi seems to have its roots in the speculation of the money his agent may or may bot be asking for in contract negotiations.
Exactly this , it’s about money and that is important. If he wants to be paid what Boldy is getting he can hit the road. Hes going to be 23 years old and should be starting to enter his prime. Hes had a very rough few months when the going got tough and he looked completely useless in this last playoff game.
I like Rossi , I want to give him more time. After witnessing this year as a whole I don’t want to commit big money to him long term.
I've given up to argue against those constant Rossi-dis on this board. What I see is a young 60p center in his sophmore season, who has improved every year. All-Rookie team 2024, carrying this team with Boldy & Gus when Kap was out. Not to mention his work ethic in the offseason.
The only thing he can't provide is size and thats why there is so much doubt about him.
Hopefully he doesn't get (more) injured in playoffs for a team, that likely don't wanna resign him. The fans have given up on him already as u can read on those boards - trade speculation an criticism on Rossi everywhere you look. Rossi may have run out of gas or he is playing injured atm, but he has got no contract so far and his future is everything but clear. That will have an influence on his performances as well. And thats human.
The only thing he can't provide is size and thats why there is so much doubt about him.
Hopefully he doesn't get (more) injured in playoffs for a team, that likely don't wanna resign him. The fans have given up on him already as u can read on those boards - trade speculation an criticism on Rossi everywhere you look. Rossi may have run out of gas or he is playing injured atm, but he has got no contract so far and his future is everything but clear. That will have an influence on his performances as well. And thats human.
MrRuin
Registered User
ok cool, it's about money. Yet people are throwing him under the bus RIGHT NOW where he earns less than Freddy G to the point of not wanting to give him a chance on the first line and not stick him in between two plugs. Nobody knows what he will get on his next deal - warranted or not. That's an upcoming business decision. Why judge him harder than anyone else on this roster because of that? If anything he should get some slack and he should be the prime target of "let's get this guy going ASAP".
Boldy had a very mediocre first playoff series btw....just saying.
He's had the last 2 months to get things going with anyone and everyone in the lineup (minus Kap and JEE). It's the Playoffs, so it's play well and you get more ice time (Hartman), play poorly and you get less (Nyquist). And this is on a game by game basis.
The main player to get going is Kap. He picked up a couple of assists, but he needs to be shooting the puck.
MrRuin
Registered User
The whole team had isues during those months, even Boldy in stretches. The amount of blame you pile on the guy is in no relation to his responsibilities within the team. And if you think only Kap counts for this team: well...you are setting yourself up for a short postseason. You absolutely need to have 2-3 lines that can at any time in the game score a goal if you want to advance. There is no other way especially against a defensively structured team like Vegas. You absolutely need to look beyond your first line to get scoring. And you definetly want to get your second best regular season scorer (for whatever reason) to be in a position where he can put points on the board. This is not a hard concept to grasp from my point of view.
BagHead
Registered User
On the day Boldy got his contract, he had played 42 games that season and had 29 points. The season prior was his rookie season where had 39 points in 47 games.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Rossi is the more established player with better stats compared to Boldy when he signed. Rossi probably should get the same contract, inflation adjusted. If you can sign him to a number starts with a 7 it's a fair deal (and maybe great value if it's in the lower 7's). If it starts with an 8 it's a little bit of an overpay, but nothing I'd lose sleep over. If it starts with a 9, trade him.
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Yet Kaprizov was out for half the season, and even when he was in, Rossi often played on a different line with luminaries such as MoJo, Foligno, and the like. You seem to be intent on running Rossi down with untruths, or half truths.
AKL
Jon Merrill Fan Club President
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Also not gonna stand for the revisionist history that he only got those points being spoon fed by Kaprizov. Rossi was a legitimately good player and a difference maker for those first four months of the season. He wasn't just a passenger getting boosted by his wingers.
ThatGuy22
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- Oct 11, 2011
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You're arbitrary end date doesn't make sense, because he was good in February as well.
60 games, 51 points 70 point pace.
He was quite bad in the last 22, but at this time if year you've got to consider what we don't know. The annual what injury is he playing with we will find out about once we are bounced?
AKL
Jon Merrill Fan Club President
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I still don't like the Granny (I didn't like his as a center either) comparison for stats. The team systems are completely different. The high center, trap game of Yeo doesn't really play into Rossi's skillset.
Kap had more points than Parise did in Granny's last season (15-16) as a center (age 23), MarJo had more points that Pommer (fell off a cliff year) did that year too. Rossi's points total this year would have lead that team.
There are no half truths in what I said. Kap (more points than Parise) and Boldy (double Pommer's points) are better than Parise and Pommer were. I guess(?) the 3rd wing comparison would be Vanek (41p) to Zucc (54p)?
Granny w/o Parise or Pommer ToI 305 mins
Rossi w/o Bodly or Kap: ToI 339 mins (Rossi had ~100 mins more ToI for the season)
Then they might as well sit him, because putting him between Trenin and Brazeau on the 4th line is really pointless.
For me, it's that his game is more suited to that of a winger and his offensive ability doesn't make up for his deficiencies defensively and in the faceoff dot. Is there a good center that we can compare Rossi to?
Can we knock the second year schtick? Dude is gonna be 24 at the start of next season. Let's not pretend he is 20 and has endless runway left to improve. This is the second straight year his play has fallen off in the second half.
Team is giving Rossi a chance to be that secondary scoring and he is proving that he can't do it.
AKL
Jon Merrill Fan Club President
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I think it's more proving how bad our wings are after Kaprizov and Boldy than anything else. I guess it's proving that Rossi isn't a Kaprizov level player too but I suspect we already knew that.
Not to mention the "nasty" injury he's playing through right now.
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