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A phone call at 6:20 p.m. on a Friday from your general manager is usually not a good sign for your job security.
So Marco Rossi sheepishly hit the green button on his phone and learned that two years of trade rumors, many of which were to the Vancouver Canucks, had finally come to fruition.
Bill Guerin was calling to inform Rossi he was now a member of the Canucks as a huge component in a stunning blockbuster that would bring superstar defenseman and Canucks captain Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild.
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“It’s been a crazy, I don’t know, 30 minutes right now,” Rossi said a little before 7 p.m. in a phone conversation with The Athletic about the trade that also sent first-rounders Zeev Buium and Liam Ohgren to Vancouver. “Of course, it was a shock. But that’s business. That’s part of it. We all play hockey, and we know it might happen.
“But I’m really happy for everything Minnesota has done for me. There were ups and downs for sure, but overall, I had a really good time here in Minnesota. And especially at the beginning, when they figured out my heart stuff.”
Soon after captaining Austria in the World Junior Championship, Rossi reported to Minnesota in January 2021. However, he was weak throughout the tournament and didn’t feel well. He told that to Wild doctors, who discovered that he had myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart — stemming from having COVID-19 in the fall.
It was a harrowing time for Rossi as he was completely shut down, his start to his pro North American career put on hold, and he returned to his native country to rest, wondering whether his hockey career was over.
“It could have killed me if Minnesota didn’t find it,” Rossi said. “I’m so happy the way they supported me after.”
Rossi, picked at No. 9 in the 2020 NHL Draft, is one of the few drafted-and-developed center success stories in franchise history. A junior star for the Ottawa 67s, Rossi was the Wild’s second-leading scorer (24 goals and 60 points) last season — his second full year in the NHL and the second in a row in which he played all 82 games — after making the all-rookie team in 2023-24.
Still, it never felt like Rossi was going to be everything the Wild had wanted him to be. He wasn’t big. Not the fastest. Yet, despite all that, few train harder off the ice, and few have more guts in going to the dirty areas of the ice. The skilled center scored most of his goals from a few feet in front of the net and could center the first line even though the Wild weren’t convinced he was a true No. 1 center.
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So Rossi was in trade talks two summers ago, and especially this past summer, when the Wild didn’t want to come close to giving him the roughly $7 million a year his representatives were seeking. They didn’t want to approach Matt Boldy’s $7 million AAV.
So Guerin began shopping him. In fact, The Athletic reported last week that even though the Canucks had interest in Rossi for some time, they rejected a Wild trade offer at the draft for Aatu Räty, the 2025 15th pick and Artūrs Šilovs.
In recent weeks, the Wild tried to acquire Kiefer Sherwood and even offered Ohgren. That was turned down, but suddenly Rossi’s name came up again. Guerin entered the fray for Hughes, the former Norris Trophy winner, a week ago.
Last winter, Rossi rejected a five-year, $25 million extension offer from the Wild. Rossi countered with a short-term bridge at a higher AAV than the $5 million per year the sides finally settled upon. The Wild didn’t counter until they offered a bridge deal at an AAV lower than $5 million in June.
That was rejected, with Rossi’s camp feeling their position, especially on a long-term deal, was strengthened by contracts to Logan Stankoven (eight years, $6 million AAV, signed in July), Matthew Coronato (seven years, $6.5 million AAV, signed in May), JJ Peterka (five years, $7.7 million AAV, signed in June) and Matthew Knies (six years, $7.75 million AAV, signed in June).
However, in late August, after negotiations were going nowhere, Rossi finally gave in. He didn’t want to risk missing the start of training camp, nor did the Wild want him to. He signed a three-year, $15 million bridge deal.
Though he played in the top six all season until breaking his foot and being shut down after trying to gut it out for several games, signs of Rossi’s unsteady future in Minnesota came in the playoffs.
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He was demoted to the fourth line late in Game 1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, and he remained there for the rest of the series — a six-game loss for the team’s eighth first-round exit in 10 years. He scored twice in the playoffs — more than 15 teammates — despite the third-fewest minutes on the team.
Rossi called his fourth-line usage in the playoffs “very disappointing” and said he had an “honest” talk with coach John Hynes at their exit meetings. Guerin said later he liked Rossi and wasn’t “dying” to trade him but would do whatever he could to improve the team this summer.
But no trades materialized, so the re-signing happened. Still, in recent weeks, The Athletic had a sense that Rossi’s name was being dangled around again, especially since he was one of the rare Wild players without trade protection.
Rossi sensed it, too.
“I could see the stories that Vancouver was really interested in,” Rossi said. “I heard a lot of talking, I would say, but you never know. So many people are talking, but now when it happened, I know now they really wanted me, and I feel really good about it.”
Rossi had done pretty much everything the Wild had asked of him since he was drafted. He overcame that lost year because of COVID-19 and myocarditis. He stayed in Minnesota in the summer of 2023, even skipping his sister’s wedding in Austria to commit to training with the team’s staff and players.
In summer 2024, he returned early and skipped Austria’s failed attempt to qualify for the Olympics. He had a good attitude and work ethic after getting sent to AHL Iowa in his first season.
He continues to improve and should significantly upgrade the Canucks’ weak center position.
“I’m really happy,” Rossi said. “It’s a dream to be drafted in the NHL, playing first games, scoring goals and I developed as a player so much. And I could improve so much, and I still have more in my game. And I can’t wait to show everyone in Vancouver what kind of player I am, and yeah, I’m really excited.”
Coincidentally, Rossi’s parents, Michael and Claudia, arrived in Minnesota this week to spend time with him. Now, they’ll help him and his fiancée, Stefanie Prast, pack up their life to begin a new chapter in Vancouver.
“I’ll miss Minnesota, but I’m excited to get started in Vancouver,” Rossi said.