Recent Development: Avalanche poised to steal rising star from divisional rival
Photo credit: Carlos Gonzalez / The Minnesota Star Tribune
One of the biggest storylines of the Minnesota Wild's 2025 offseason revolves around young and talented Austrian forward Marco Rossi.
The 23-year-old restricted free agent put up an impressive 24 goals and 60 points across a full 82-game season, and a lot of teams have shown strong interest in signing him in free agency this summer.
Colorado Avalanche poised to steal rising star from divisional rival.
Although Rossi will likely draw significant interest around the league, the Avalanche should make a strong push to acquire him.
Marko Zlomislic from The Hockey Writers reports that at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Colorado GM Chris MacFarland made bold moves to bolster the center dpeth behind Nathan MacKinnon by adding Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle. However, both players underwhelmed, especially considering the steep acquisition cost, as the Avalanche ultimately fell to the Dallas Stars in Round 2.
"The free-agent market for centers is very slim this offseason, so a potential Nelson departure would create a familiar hole at second-line center for the Avalanche, one they've unsuccessfully been trying to fill since Nazem Kadri signed with the Calgary Flames during the 2022 offseason." -Zlomislic
The challenge for the Avalanche is their tight salary cap situation. With nearly $87 million already allocated to 11 forwards, five defensemen, and two goaltenders for next season, Colorado heads into the offseason with just $8.7 million in projected cap space. Key pending free agents like Brock Nelson, Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, Ryan Lindgren, and Sam Malinski still need to be addressed.
"The Avalanche do have their own first and second-round picks in 2027 and beyond, and those could form part of the package sent to Minnesota for Rossi's rights. While Rossi's physical profile and lack of high-end foot speed might furrow some brows in Colorado given the typical tenacity found in the Western Conference playoff bracket, those weaknesses shouldn't overshadow his strengths. He is willing to do the defensive work and could easily be insulated with two physical, defensively responsible wingers in Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin." -Zlomislic
With limited options in free agency and depleted pool of draft picks, pursuing Rossi becomes all the more critical for the Avalanche. The team can't afford too many high-risk moves before they exhaust their tradeable assets.
The front office needs to strike a delicate balance between aggression and prudence, because the future of the MacKinnon and Cale Makar era may hinge on what they do next.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 3 | 29 ANSWERS Recent Development: Avalanche poised to steal rising star from divisional rival Do you think the Avalanche should pursue Marco Rossi this offseason? | ||
| yes | 11 | 37.9 % |
| no | 18 | 62.1 % |
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