Contract status with Wild resolved, Marco Rossi looks ahead to having productive season

Marco Rossi tried not to dwell on it, but his contract negotiation with the Wild over the summer was always in the back of his mind.

How could it not be?

“It’s your job,” he said. “You want to know what’s going on.”

Finally, near the end of August, the two sides agreed on three more seasons for $15 million, and Rossi received the resolution before training camp just like he hoped.

“Guys, you see they’re sitting out,” he said. “I’m not a guy like that. I don’t like that part. I want to be in camp. That’s just the person I am.”

Look what he would have missed out on if he still wasn’t signed: a spot on the top line between wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, an expanded role on special teams and a two-goal preseason debut Thursday in the Wild’s 5-2 loss to Dallas at Grand Casino Arena that emphasized how forward-focused Rossi is despite his future with the team being uncertain at one point.

“I’m really excited,” he said.

Rossi, 24, is coming off his best season in the NHL. He recorded 24 goals and 36 assists for 60 points, all career highs, in his second full campaign after the first-round draft pick (ninth overall in 2020) previously split time between the minors.

Not only did Rossi center Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello’s early surge before Zuccarello got hurt, but Rossi remained a key stabilizer while the Wild continued to deal with injuries. Rossi was one of only three players to appear in every game.

Overall, he has logged 167 consecutive regular-season games going back to 2022-23.

“I like to be around the net,” he said. “I think when people see me, they don’t think I go to the net area because they probably think I play more outside. But I’ve proven a lot of guys wrong so far.”

When the season ended, however, those accomplishments took a back seat.

After Rossi re-signed, Guerin chalked up the prolonged process to the nature of the business, and Rossi isn’t holding on to the past.

“The team is always No. 1, but obviously what happened, happened,” Rossi said. “I left everything behind me. I’m looking forward to a new season.”

What could that look like?

Skating with Boldy and Kaprizov since the outset of camp, Rossi’s chemistry with the two is apparent: Boldy set up both of Rossi’s goals Thursday, which came on consecutive shifts.

“Our brain is the same pretty much,” Rossi said about the trio. “We’re smart guys. We’re smart players. We know what the other guy wants to do with the puck or where he wants to be.”

He has already taken reps in camp on the penalty kill, which he has played minimally, and during the summer in Switzerland Rossi worked on faceoffs with Joe Thornton, who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year. Rossi has also bulked up, adding just shy of 10 pounds.

“Every center is different,” said Rossi, who also got engaged in May to girlfriend Stefanie Prast while back home in Austria. “You have tall guys that try to go more power. Smaller guys go with more speed. I think for me I had to find a good mix between both.”

Where does Rossi go from here?

That’s up to him, but the playoffs and summer stalemate don’t change the fact that last season could be a launching pad for Rossi toward the NHLer he becomes.