Wild Finally Sign RFA Forward

At long last, the Minnesota Wild come to an agreement with their top restricted free agent.

Jan 11, 2025; San Jose, California, USA; Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi (23) plays the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

At long last, the Marco Rossi saga has come to an end.

According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Minnesota Wild have signed the restricted free agent to a three-year, $15 million deal ($5 million annual cap hit). Rossi, 23, will still be a free agent when the deal expires, giving the Wild a chance to re-up if he continues to play well.

Marco Rossi’s deal will carry a $5 million AAV. $4 million, $5 million, $6 million, so his QO heading into his unrestricted year will be $6 million

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) August 22, 2025

Rossi, the No. 9 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, scored a career-high 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games last season. Unfortunately, the Austrian forward's season ended on a sour note as he averaged just 11:08 of ice time in the playoffs, a massive step down from the 18:15 he averaged in the regular season. Still, he scored two goals and three points in the Wild's six-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Possibly because of Rossi's declining ice time, he and the Wild entered a long stalemate in regard to his value. Russo reported late last month that the two parties hadn't spoken since early June, and his agent, Ian Pulver, shared a telling comment on the state of negotiations.

“There clearly is a difference of opinion with respect to Marco’s value,” Pulver told Russo in June, per TSN. “We will continue in good faith to engage the Wild to attempt to reach resolution. We understand that Billy [Wild general manager Bill Guerin] likes Marco, but for how much? And in what role going forward? (That) is the subject of great debate.

“Like the Wild, we believe we have advanced very fair and reasonable contract proposals. What the future holds for Marco and the Wild, only time will tell.”

Guerin, on the other hand, maintained that he wanted to get a deal done, just at an appropriate value for the team.

"We like Marco, he had a very good year for us,” Guerin told NHL.com in July. “He's a good hockey player, but we have a structure in our pay that we have him slotted in at a certain level, and that's just the way we're doing our business. This is nothing personal. We want them back, and we'll hopefully get to a resolution sooner than later."

After months of negotiating, though, the two sides can finally put this saga behind them and look forward to good times ahead.

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