June 12th, 2025
Alex Rickman
With the Canucks looking to add to their top six ahead of next season, names are beginning to surface as potential targets for Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin, and it seems that there may be some smoke to the rumours regarding a target who some Canucks have near the top of their wishlists.
The Athletic’s Michael Russo has said that the Canucks are interested in Minnesota Wild centre Marco Rossi, who is set to hit restricted free agency on July 1st. Despite some efforts at an extension, it has become increasingly unlikely that Rossi will sign an extension with the Wild, opening up the possibility of a trade or offer sheet that could pry the young centre away from Minnesota. It appears the Canucks will be taking a shot at bringing him to the West Coast.
It’s clear to see why the Canucks are trying to make a player like Rossi theirs. Rossi is a smart, skilled centre who is coming off a 60-point campaign and his second consecutive 20-goal season, all while playing a solid two-way game despite his lack of size. With high-end playmaking ability and hockey IQ, as well as good agility, Rossi has shown a toolset that bodes well for a bright future in an NHL top six, and the fact that he’s already shown the ability to be a 60-point producer at just 23 years old makes the future exciting for whoever lands the young Austrian.
23-year-old centres who have already put up 60-point seasons don’t often become available for trade. Fortunately for the Canucks and anyone else who may be in on Rossi, the Wild are not buying in on Rossi’s ability to produce in the postseason, and buried him in the lineup during their first round series against Vegas. This has led to Rossi not wanting to commit his long term future to this organization, creating a rare opportunity to go out and get a player who fits the profile of what the Canucks need and want so well. So why don’t the Wild believe that Rossi can be a playoff performer?
A lot of it could come down to the biggest concern about Rossi’s game, which could also be the one downside to bringing him to Vancouver. At 5’9, Rossi is far from a large human. Size is important at the centre position, as well as in playoff hockey, and Minnesota may not believe that Rossi will be able to show up in the postseason due to his lack of size. It’s also worth noting that Rossi put up 3 points during his 6 appearances in limited minutes this past postseason.
This lack of size could be an issue in Vancouver. While his name has reemerged in trade rumours of late, as it stands, Elias Pettersson will be the Canucks first line centre next year. Like Rossi, Pettersson is not a big guy, standing at 6’2 but with a rather slight frame. It’s easy to get away with one of your top two centres being undersized, but having both of your top centres being smaller players could be a problem, especially for a Canucks team that spent too much time last season being pushed around without much fighting back. You could, in theory, make up for this lack of size by acquiring bigger wingers to play alongside Pettersson and Rossi, but that doesn’t change the fact that some size is needed in the Canucks top six, and just makes it harder to go out and acquire wingers who will help get this team back on track.
In spite of this, however, Rossi remains an appealing target. The Canucks under no circumstances can sacrifice adding size and grit if they want to be able to contend, but the opportunity to go out and get a guy like Rossi is too good to pass up if the price is right. Bigger guys who can make up for Pettersson and Rossi’s lack of size can become available at just about any point, but a young centre with Rossi’s skill level who has already shown that he can be a difference maker in the NHL isn’t always there for the taking, at least not at a price that most teams could stomach. Does that mean the Canucks should put all of their focus on Rossi? No, there are other centres who could also be great fits in Vancouver, available via trade or free agency, that Vancouver needs to consider. However, Rossi just might be the best fit on the market.
It’s not crystal clear what exactly the Wild would be looking to add in exchange for Rossi, or what an extension would look like. However, we can take a guess as to what each of these would take. Some may assume that acquiring a young centre of Rossi’s calibre would take a king’s ransom, and usually, that would be the case. With the Wild not being especially keen on the player, though, combined with his impending restricted free agency and a potential lack of interest from a great many teams, Rossi could go for a very reasonable price. Assuming that a first round pick and a roster player are what it would take in order to acquire Rossi, the Canucks could potentially make an offer that looks something like the 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft and Nils Höglander and land a 23 year old centre who could solve a lot of the team’s problems down the middle.
What an extension for Rossi would look like is also a mystery, but we can make some guesses based on the potential term of the deal. The most likely scenario for a Rossi extension would be a long-term contract wherever he may land, but a bridge deal could also be in play. According to AFP Analytics, should Rossi sign a longer deal, the AAV would be around $7.4 million for seven years, while a bridge deal would be closer to $4.5 million for two. The bridge deal may, on the surface, seem like a more enticing option, as it would allow the Canucks some time to see how Rossi fits in at a lower cap hit before they commit to him, and would allow for more cap room right now to keep adding to the roster. However, it’s important to remember that if Rossi proves himself to be the player the Canucks want him to be on a bridge deal, his next contract is going to end up being huge, creating bigger problems for the Canucks down the road. While it’s certainly not without its risks, if Rossi winds up in Vancouver, locking him down on a long-term deal becomes an important task.
If Rossi isn’t brought to Vancouver, it isn’t the end of the world, but it’s safe to say that the Canucks would be much better off with Marco Rossi in their ranks than they are without. With uncertainty surrounding the future of many current Canucks, and the need for several additions to the forward core to get the team back on track, paired with the Canucks lack of young centres, Rossi would help solve a few problems for Vancouver at once. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks, but if the Canucks are going to get the wheels back on the bus next season, adding Rossi would be a strong first step in the right direction.