There continues to be a lack of meaningful progress in contract talks with pending UFA superstar Kirill Kaprizov or restricted free agent center Marco Rossi, Wild general manager Bill Guerin told RG’s James Murphy in an interview published Wednesday.
That said, it’s not a point of stress for the front office, Guerin said. “The talks have been pretty consistent, and I’ve been happy with them.. I don’t like to put really anything out in the public when it comes to negotiations, but no, there’s no real updates.”
There’s obviously less urgency on Kaprizov’s deal – they still have nearly 11 months before he can hit the open market. Going into the regular season without an agreement with Rossi or an appropriate trade return for his rights, however, leaves them without one of just three 20-goal scorers from last season with no surefire insurance policy.
To that end, there had been speculation that Rossi wasn’t considering any contract offers from Minnesota until Kaprizov’s situation was settled. That statement never made much sense, considering Rossi remains under team control through the 2028-29 season, and Guerin refuted it in the interview.
Even though that isn’t a factor, there’s still an interminable stalemate. Reporting last month indicated Rossi’s camp hadn’t engaged in contract talks with the Wild since June, after which they pivoted to trade discussions only. Whether that’s changed in recent weeks, or if Guerin’s response of consistent talks is nothing more than a platitude, remains unclear.
With trade talks remaining similarly quiet around Rossi at this point in the offseason, a bridge deal is presumably the best way forward for both sides – even if he’s shown some hesitation about leaving himself exposed to a trade to an undesirable destination. A bridge deal should come across in the $4.5MM range annually for the next two seasons, AFP Analytics projects. With nearly $9.5MM in cap space, that wouldn’t be a concern for Minnesota.
It’s likely not worth checking in on either situation until the beginning of training camp, when Rossi’s camp will be more inclined to acquiesce on a bridge deal and Kaprizov will be back in Minnesota.