Marco Rossi & the Minnesota Wild haven't spoken since June, & likely won't until September

The Marco Rossi stalemate has hit new lows, as a report says his camp and the Minnesota Wild haven’t even talked in close to two months, and probably won’t again until September. 

The restricted free agent is looking for a contract in the $6-$7M AAV range, but the Wild are more sold on the $5M range. Joe Smith and Michael Russo write in The Athletic that this standoff could reach into a third month. 

The Wild and Rossi’s camp haven’t had talks since early June, per league sources… With no offer sheets coming, at least for now, this might be a waiting game until the next pressure point in negotiations — the start of training camp in mid-September.

An offer sheet, in fact, is likely not coming at all, according to a report we shared recently from insider Frank Seravalli. 

“It’s almost like Guerin, who vowed to match any offer sheet, was playing a game of chicken to show Rossi’s camp that he didn’t buy that this threat was a real threat. And to this juncture, at least, he’s been right,” write Smith & Russo.

AFP Analytics has projected the 5’9″ center to command a seven-year deal on his next contract with a $7.4M AAV. That might be a little high, and the Wild have no intentions of going there. A short-term bridge deal, suggests the analytics firm, would likely run two years at $4.5M per. 

Rossi had a very impressive second full season with the Wild, scoring 24 goals and totaling 60 points, a huge improvement from the 40 points of his rookie year. 

The 23-year-old former first-rounder (9th overall, 2020 NHL Draft) is coming off his entry-level deal, and is the last 2025-26 contract that GM Guerin has to work out before the new season. Which leaves Smith & Russo predicting a standoff that will continue to linger.  

“Guerin could make Rossi sweat and slowplay this until we get closer to camp. Rossi obviously wants to play and must be signed to do that.”

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