The Minnesota Wild re-signed restricted free agent Marco Rossi to a 3-year, $15 million contract on Friday, ending months of speculation about the center’s immediate future with the team.
The contract carries a salary cap hit of $5 million. Rossi, 23, was coming off his entry-level deal, having been drafted ninth overall by the Wild in 2020.
Rossi is coming off his best NHL season with 24 goals and 36 assists in 82 games. His 60 points marked a 20-point improvement over 2023-24, when Rossi finished sixth in the NHL rookie of the year voting.
Rossi was second on the Wild in points last season to Matt Boldy (73) and third in goals behind Boldy (27) and Kirill Kaprizov (25). But the young center’s future with Minnesota remained murky as he hit restricted free agency this summer.
“His production kind of fell off on the back end of last season, but he was still a good player,” Minnesota GM Bill Guerin said. “When you’re in a playoff series, you’re constantly adjusting and not really worried about who’s playing with who. You’re worried about winning games.”
Rossi’s name was mentioned in trade rumors around last season’s deadline and into the offseason, as the Wild reportedly weren’t sold on making a long-term commitment to him at the salary Rossi was seeking.
Rossi didn’t have much leverage as an RFA. Guerin said he would match any offer sheet that Rossi signed. While extending negotiations into training camp was a possibility, the sides instead agreed to a three-year bridge deal for the free agent.
“He’s shown steady progress. He went through a lot as a young player,” Guerin said. “He’s just kind of scratching the surface, and I think this three-year contract really gives him a good runway to be the player he can be.”
The Wild finished fourth in the Central Division last season with 97 points, losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Up next for Guerin, who is also the GM of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team for 2026: trying to extend Kaprizov, his 28-year-old star winger, who is entering the last year of his contract in Minnesota.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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