I think Addison gets more like 1M AAV, that is unless they trade him away. I think Foligno getting traded so that Nyquist and/or Soucy could come back is intriguing, even though it probably won't happen. Goose is probably gone, assuming he expresses that desire to Guerin.

I sorta have a bad feeling about Rossi right now. I really hope he has a solid offseason, he needs it. Next year could be make-or-break for a prospect of his stock. No way Freddy gets relegated to the fourth line, he is a perfectly fine 3rd line C/W and a better option than Rossi in that spot.

I agree that Addy should be getting more than his QO, probs something closer to Sandin’s 2x$1.4 but a 1 year prove it is possible.

But to your last thought, I don’t know what gives that impression. I realize there’s a narrative about him right now but we’ve only seen him play 4th line and that is not a role he will excel in. If Dean is so set on Freddy as the 3C, then you’ve gotta stick Rossi with 97. Any way you slice it, Rossi needs to play a lot next year.

I fundamentally disagree with the idea that Freddy is a better option than Rossi.

As if I wrote it myself, I agree with everything here!

It’s an entirely new ball game when you free yourself from emotional attachment.

I’m watching Dallas get stomped and I’m jazzed for the draft. Can’t wait to see how wrong I am in October.

It’s way better for truly analyzing when you can set your emotions aside! Not always easy though…

I certainly hope you prove me wrong about him. Assuming the whole team were healthy, would you say that Rossi was a better option than Freddy to play against Dallas? That is where I am coming from. If he doesn't deserve only 4th line minutes next season, which I totally agree with, then where does he fit? I don't see how him playing between Duhaime and Foligno is going to help him much more. And EE and Hartman have the top two Cs clamped down, for now. Here's hoping Rossi finds that killer instinct, because he doesn't have it right now.

I bet if he struggles again in the fall, they try him at wing. Maybe opposite 97, who knows?

Because Zucc has a year left, re-signing Freddy put Rossi in a tough spot. Zucc can really only play with 97 and Freddy is what he is, a bottom 6 C that has zero offensive instinct (I will die on this hill) but the coach LOVES him so he’s not going anywhere. Hartman is easily moved to W on basically any line.

Rossi isn’t a bottom 6 C and never will be. You have to force feed him too 6 minutes and then decide what he is, we have no idea if he’s an NHLer because Dean used him entirely out of place his entire audition last year. And as for was he playoff ready? Probably not, but nobody else on the team was either so that’s a bit of a red herring.

I get what you're saying about Rossi's stock as a top-6 player, but it is also true that players who are ready to play in the league make the most of the minutes given to them. Every chance you get, you go out and play hard - even if that doesn't mean points. Guerin, and Evason by extension, have made it clear that they will not just anoint a player to a top line without them earning it. Look at Faber: end of the season he comes out of the gate on that third pair doing exactly what is expected of him plus a bit more and now the chances of him playing in the top 4 next season are good. Not guaranteed, but good. Rossi is soft everywhere he has been put so far - soft on pucks, soft on defenders. That works in the AHL, but in the big dance not so much.

This is not a finesse league, these guys will get tossed and man-handled if they play cute all the time, especially in the playoffs. Hell Boldy probably needs to learn some of that kind of workmanship too, good thing he is 6'2''. These smaller guys are big risks, and often take much longer to develop - if they do at all. We shall see, my jaded Minnesota fandom will try to keep the faith. Hah!

I’m not a believer in “earning it.” Play the best players in the position that makes them the best. I’m a former coach and you can’t force feed ideals if you want to win, you’ve gotta park your pride at the door. Dean has his favorites and his ideals and he doesn’t change, that’s not a good coach.

And I take issue with the idea that Rossi is being judged on his overall play and not his lack of scoring. Put Zucc on the 4th line and see how effective he is. It’s about the player’s skill set. It’s very easy to create a narrative about how specific guys aren’t “playing the right way” when you ask them to do things they’ve never said they can do.

Rossi is a center, so he is expected to be multi-faceted and to some degree adjust to the linemates he is given. I think if he were coming in as a scoring winger, your argument would hold more water. And if you take the 'earning it' mentality out of the equation, where does that leave the Wild? I'd say it leaves them back in the Chuck Fletcher era, where players are anointed spots in the lineup even if they don't deserve it. That 'earning it' message is coming from Guerin just as much as it is from Dean.

I agree that Dean is a bit set in his ways, but he trusts guys like Freddy for good reason - they play responsible, hard-nosed hockey. That is what they want out of Rossi.

If we’re trying to get Rossi to play like Freddy, we’ve lost the plot.

I'm not saying exactly like him, of course Rossi's upside is higher. But clearly there is something the org is seeing in Rossi's game that is not translating to the NHL right now.

There’s a disconnect, no doubt. But I don’t believe we can take anything from the games Rossi has played in the NHL to determine whether he’s “ready” or not.

P.S. Rossi’s bout of Myocarditis puts him back to the physical development of a 20 y/o. He should start to see some improvements this year just due to regular training.

Very unfortunate he had that complication, hopefully staying in MN for the summer for training gets him back on pace.

It won’t hurt, if nothing else it endears him to the coaches and staff. But if you think about the physiology of what happened to him, he basically lost 2 years of development. The first was a decline due to the disease, the second was rebuilding to where he was when he got sick. That’s where he’s at now and we can see some progression, judge him from here forward.

It undoubtedly lowers his ceiling, but he’s so smart and skilled there’s absolutely a top 6 guy there.

Fair enough, I can agree to that. Here's hoping he comes into his own!