Things just took a WILD turn…

Things just took a WILD turn…

things just took a wild turn a young star in the Western Conference is all but done with his current team and the Rangers are in a prime position to pounce and bring the young star to Broadway welcome back to Rangers Digest i am your host Brett Botfeld and it is great to be back with you guys for another week here on Rangers Digest on this glorious Monday morning the 22nd of June there is a player who has consistently been linked to the Rangers the entire off season who has once again emerged in offseason rumors but before I reveal just who that player is a quick reminder that about 77% of you that currently watch these videos are unsubscribed so please hit that free subscribe button down below so you can stay up todate with everything New York Rangers guys let’s get right into this video there was a breaking bombshell report over the weekend from the premium NHL insider Elliot Freriedman and he went on to say “The Minnesota Wild offered Marco Rossi a bridge deal which was rejected rossi was upset by being put on the fourth line in the playoffs he wants to make sure he’s in a place where he can play topline center and guys as you can see there Marco Rossi another disgruntled young star in the NHL who has no interest at all has made it very well known that he does not want to be part of the Minnesota Wild organization long-term and that brings me to this next piece of information here from hockey wilderness.com the New York Rangers are interested in Marco Rossi this is nothing new folks we know that the Rangers have been linked to Marco Rossi they need a center under 25 with top six upside since the Rangers need more youth can Mike Sullivan get the most out of Rossi how much does this shift the Rangers retool guys let’s break this down one by one so we know that the Rangers are interested in Rossi but as you see there they need a center under 25 with top six upside since the Rangers need more youth chris Drury has put an emphasis on that and why do they need a center under 25 guys while the Rangers currently have two very good topline centers in Vincent Trochek and JT Miller but both are older than 30 years of age so the Rangers could really use a player like Marco Rossi mika Zabanagette is currently slated on that third line at center at 32 years of age that would put the first three top lines at center all good players but all over the age of 30 the Rangers need to inject some youth into that lineup and we know Chris Drury has spoken about speed snarl and size marco Rossi has the speed he’s got the snarl but he doesn’t have the size but look he’s got two out of those three traits and he does have the youth which is a cherry on top and the Rangers can certainly use more of that moving right along here can Mike Sullivan get the most out of Rossi and he absolutely can folks mike Sullivan has been known to develop players in Pittsburgh such as Jake Gensel Brian Rust just to name a few he loves young aggressive players and you are certainly getting that with Marco Rossi 25 23 years of age excuse me a two-way player like I said aggressive he’s you know he’s aggressive on the forche and Mike Sullivan absolutely eats that up let’s move right along here to the last piece of information how much does this shift the Rangers retool now Darius and I have spoken about it till we’re blue in the face here on this channel that the Rangers are not in the middle of a rebuild they are simply in the middle of a retool a team that was not too far away from the Stanley Cup final just two wins away they are not looking to break it all down folks they are looking to bring in players that are established but are younger they don’t want as many aging stars they want more stars that are on the rise and ascending and have shown improvement over the last few seasons let’s take a look at Marco Rossi the last few years and as I said the Rangers are in the business of bringing in guys on the rise look at that 2023 2024 season that was the first glimpse of Rossi with the pop and sizzle he had a total of 40 points in 82 games and then he takes that massive jump last season going from 40 points to 60 points he went from a minus4 to a plus three and once again played all 82 games and guys that certainly cannot be taken for granted i’ve spoken about it time and time again the National Hockey League is grueling it is extremely difficult to be that durable guys and when you have a guy I’ve said it about Will Kulie who is extremely durable and can put the puck in the net marco Rossi the same thing extremely durable can put the puck in the net is young is fast plays with snarl you want guys like that on your roster and Marco Rossi is certainly that like I said back-to-back season of 82 games that is nothing to sneeze at and that is certainly important when it comes to postseason hockey as well which the Rangers are looking to return to this upcoming season folks take a look here once again look at that goal increase look at that assist increase he just got better and better on the offensive end and I expect him to keep improving look at Marco Rossi here when it comes to goal scoring this is a player that can do it in all facets look eight goals with the wrist shot eight goals with the snapshot three tipping goals two backhand goals one poke two deflected this is a guy that can score in so many ways he would be a great threat to have on the ice for this Rangers team and like I said the top three Rangers lines at center are all over 30 years of age the Rangers need to change that they need to inject some youth moving along now a lot of you are saying “What would it take to get Marco Rossi what would you have to trade?” And folks I am going to take a different angle here take a look at his previous contract coming off a six-f figureure deal for three years at $863,000 he is set to be a restricted free agent on July 1st and take a look at the bottom right corner guys he is offer sheet available what have we heard when it comes to the New York Rangers they will not be shy when it comes to offer sheets which is why the Rangers need to make sure they lock up Will Culie fast because they can get him anywhere from $3 million to $3.4 million that is what we’ve seen hockey projections show so if the Rangers are able to lock up Kulie avoid getting to offer sheet territory with him they will still have nearly $14 million to play with and you expect that number to go up because they are still looking to make deals here folks but even if they don’t they still have about $14 million to play with and you can present an offer sheet to Marco Rossi and something that would be perfect is another three-year deal i would go the bridge re the bridge deal route give him a three-year deal reward him for his consistent improvement and I would offer him about $5.5 million that way you’re not handicapping yourself this season you’re not handicapping yourself next off season which is extremely crucial guys we have spoken about it here on the channel you know who the stars are that are available next off season but if you’re able to secure Marco Rossi in the5 to $6 million range for 3 years you are not handicapping yourself whatsoever and like I said I expect the Rangers to make more moves to free up more cap space here and when it comes to the Rangers and offer sheets we have seen that Chris Drury won’t be shy in offering bonuses now guys when you offer signing bonuses on these offer sheets it makes it more difficult for the team to retain their own player so it would make it more difficult for Minnesota to retain Rossi and like I said Rossi doesn’t even want to be there anymore and along with that it makes it harder for smaller market teams like a Minnesota Wild to return to retain their players on the offer sheet when signing bonuses are involved and obviously the Rangers are a big market team much bigger than the Minnesota Wild they have cap space to play with so they can certainly be a major threat they wouldn’t even have to trade any players they would certainly have to part with some draft picks you would imagine the number one the number 12 overall draft pick this upcoming draft would be part of that but that way the Rangers wouldn’t have to move any players they would simply have to deal out some cash which they have and some draft picks and like I said it would be much harder for Minnesota to retain him than for the Rangers to pry him away via offer sheet let’s move right along here guys take a look at the Rangers current lineup think about it with Marco Rossi folks we see me look at this look at these top four lines guys at center every single player is over 30 years of age that is absolutely unacceptable the Rangers need more youth guys they need more speed so if the And look at the look at the right wing guys there is absolutely zero zero depth at right wing now look the Rangers have an identity fourth line we all understand that but Alexe Lafernier at your first right wing is completely unacceptable this is not even a natural rightwing guys he came into the league as a left wing so we cannot move forward with Alexe Lafernier as our first right wing what the Rangers could do is they can be more flexible if they bring in Marco Rossi they can put him on that third line at center and what you could do with Mika Zabanagad is you can move him to right wing whether you want to put him on the first line or the second line he showed success this past season having 28 points in 25 games at right wing he played much better at right wing this past season than at center like I said if you put Rossi on that third line at center and Ma on the first or second line at right wing this lineup suddenly looks a whole lot better and I understand he wants to play topline center rossi that is not you know impossible he can still do that because the Rangers two topline centers in Vincent Trochek and JT Miller are both very versatile they’re not just stuck to playing center they can both play the wing at a high level and what I would love about Troche Miller and Rossi is you have three centers right there twowway centers guys not just offensive threats but defensive threats as well and the last thing I would like to mention here guys is when I look at the 23-year-old Marco Rossi a player comparison that comes to my mind while making this video is Braden Point braden Point guys a similar stature they can both be effective in five on five they can both be effective on the power play and they can both be effective on the pen penalty kill so I think as Rossi continues to develop here folks especially under a head coach like Mike Sullivan his ceiling is high like I said I compare him to a Braden Point and I hope he reaches that one day but I see a lot of similarities there folks but I want to hear what you guys have to say what do you guys think about Marco Rossi do you want to bring him in do you want him to play third line center for the Rangers maybe some nights first and second line depending on how Mike Sullivan wants to utilize these lineups i believe it would be a great move for the Rangers like I said you bring in that speed you bring in that snarl not the biggest guy but extremely durable and he plays aggressive for his size like I said I compare him to Braden Point so I want to hear what you guys think about that comparison what you think about bringing in Marco Rossi and we have a lot more content coming to you this entire week so tune in probably have a live stream coming on Wednesday and one more quick reminder that if you haven’t hit that free subscribe button hit that free subscribe button down below so you can stay up to date with everything New York Rangers

Bret Botfeld breaks down another report from Elliotte Friedman regarding Marco Rossi’s future in Minnesota, and what that means for the Rangers. #nyr #newyorkrangers #nhl

Rangers Digest is a YouTube Channel dedicated to bringing you the latest news, trades, reports, analysis and rumors surrounding the New York Rangers. We cover everything from game highlights and player performances to in-depth analysis of team strategies and management decisions. Our channel focuses on key players such as Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin, Chris Kreider, and JT Miller, as well as the insights of Head Coach Mike Sullivan and General Manager Chris Drury. Join us for comprehensive coverage and engaging discussions on all things Rangers!

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