ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed center Marco Rossi to a three-year, $15 million contract on Friday, following a career-best season for the 2020 first-round draft pick who had become a restricted free agent this summer.
Rossi had 24 goals and 36 assists, both career highs, in 2024-25. He also led the Wild with seven power-play goals. During his first NHL playoff series, Rossi had two goals and one assist in six games after being moved down to the fourth line, which frustrated him. But general manager Bill Guerin said too much was made of the switch.
Rossi said after the season he wanted a top-six role, which the Wild agreed with.
“His production kind of fell off on the back end of last season, but he was still a good player,” 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.”
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound native of Austria has 45 goals and 56 assists in 185 games for the Wild over parts of four seasons. Rossi has also played in every game for two straight seasons on a streak of 167 consecutive regular-season games played. He is the third Austrian player in league history to record a 50-point season, following Thomas Vanek and Michael Grabner. Vanek did so nine times.
After sitting out the 2020-21 season due to complications from COVID-19, Rossi returned to the ice for the 2021-22 season with the Wild's AHL affiliate in Iowa and made his NHL debut with Minnesota on Jan. 6, 2022.
“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.”
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The Associated Press
