It’s well-documented that Kent Hughes would like to address the Montreal Canadiens’ problems down the middle this Summer. With Ivan Demidov now in North America and Patrik Laine unable to produce at even-strength last season, the Habs need a real top-six center who will have the skills to get the best out of the two talented wingers. The Minnesota Wild could help.
The Wild has tried to shop Marco Rossi in the past, and he’s now a restricted free agent in need of a new contract. The 23-year-old center has consistently improved during his ELC and scored 60 points in 82 games this past season, representing a 20-point improvement over his previous season.
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Yet, as The Athletic’s Chris Johnston points out in his NHL offseason trade board, Rossi only got 11 minutes of ice time per game in the playoffs and pivoted the fourth line as the Wild fell in six games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
There hasn’t been a leadership change in Minnesota, unlike with the New York Islanders, meaning the people who were looking to move Rossi are still in charge and would therefore likely be amenable to discussing a sign-and-trade deal.
Rossi’s downside is his size; at 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, he’s not very imposing, and that might be why the Wild are hesitant to commit, according to Johnston. The Canadiens have shown in the past that they do not necessarily put a premium on size; they didn’t hesitate to draft Lane Hutson, who is roughly the same size.
Unlike when Hughes traded for Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, who had both only scored 26 points in their previous year with the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, Rossi is not coming off a down year. The price tag would likely be relatively high.
The Wild doesn’t have a first-round pick at the upcoming draft and only have a total of four picks while the Canadiens have two first-rounders and a total of 12 picks, meaning this could be a good starting point for any discussion. If Johnston’s NHL trade board article is to be believed, Montreal could entertain moving one of its two first-round selections.
The article also reports the Habs are willing to move Logan Mailloux, and the Wild have got a few aging defensemen on the right side of their blueline, with Jared Spurgeon being 35 and Zach Bogosian being 34. They also have David Jiricek in their system. Still, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ sixth overall selection at the 2022 draft has failed to impress since being acquired for Daemon Hunt and a truckload of draft picks, including Minnesota’s first-rounder this year.
If the Wild is after size, could Kirby Dach somehow pique their interest? He wouldn’t be the central piece of the deal, but could be an interesting throw-in if the Wild can see some potential there.
As the draft nears, we will undoubtedly see increased speculation about who could end up where, especially since Kent Hughes has been active in his three draft weekends so far. He couldn’t pull a trade for a roster player at the last draft, but he did trade three picks to the Los Angeles Kings to move up and grab Michael Hage with the 21st overall pick.
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