Young Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi is reportedly a prime trade target for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the offseason. Speculation about the future destination of the 23-year-old, who is set to become a restricted free agent with the expiry of his rookie contract in July 2025, has been doing the rounds. The Wild’s eighth straight first-round exit in the playoffs has only fueled the flames.
Marco Rossi Is on the Rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins’ Radar
The Penguins are looking for fresh talent as veteran Evgeni Malkin is expected to retire after the upcoming season. Rossi is an option for a long-term solution at second-line center.
Rossi’s name has emerged as a hot trade candidate for the second time this season. In December 2024, Wild GM Bill Guerin had downplayed rumors that Rossi might be traded. However, despite tallying 60 points in 82 games this season, Rossi was shifted to a fourth-line role during the playoffs.
In May 2024, hockey writer Michael Russo of The Athletic said that Rossi could be traded:
“If inside the (Wild) organization, they are not convinced, that he in the future is someone they are going to want to pay pay seven, eight, or $9 million … They are just thinking, now is probably the good time to maybe move him for somebody that they think is bigger, faster, more dynamic.”
Pittsburgh Hockey Now reporter Dan Kingerski, in a story published last week, pointed to Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas’s stated intentions of targeting RFAs ahead of the upcoming season.
“Dubas has all but shut down the idea of signing free agents to long-term deals, and acquiring more salary dumps would seem to hinder the progress of some young players on their way up,” Kingerski wrote. “So, trades for younger players who can help in the immediate and stick around for more than a handful of years is the goal.”
“In his year-end press conference, Dubas admitted that trades for restricted free agents, rather than trying to offer-sheet them away, was the more likely path forward,” Kingerski reported.
The Penguins will likely face stiff competition if Minnesota officially puts him on the market. Several teams, including the Philadelphia Flyers, are reportedly interested in signing the center.
However, while Rossi is an attractive target, trying to sign him could prove costly for Pittsburgh. Potential trade packages could include Pittsburgh’s lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick from the New York Rangers or a top-six winger such as Bryan Rust or Rickard Rakell. The Wild are reportedly seeking NHL-ready talent to help them become faster and more dynamic, especially after they failed to win a playoff series for the eighth time in the last 10 years.
You realize in order to sign Rossi to an offer sheet you can’t protect the pick? You can only sign an RFA if you have your own picks in the following years draft. Because the Pens are on the way down I doubt they sign him since it will likely be a top 10 pick in a 2026 draft that looks much stronger.
They are talking about trading for him. Basically for his rights as an rfa. Then they can sign him. They can use whatever picks they want for that route.