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New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Marco Rossi's contract situation with the Wild has become more complicated
Last fall, Wild owner Craig Leipold predicted that this July 1 would be like 'Christmas morning.' The shackles are off, so to speak, with $14.7 million of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's dead cap hits finally coming off the books. President of hockey operations and GM Bill Guerin, admittedly tired of 'sitting on my hands,' is ready to be aggressive and make his club a serious contender. Advertisement The problem is, the options for upgrading may not be there for the taking. And that could change the calculus for how they handle Marco Rossi. Brock Nelson re-signing with the Colorado Avalanche and a dwindling market of sellers puts the Wild in a tough spot when it comes to both dealing Rossi and upgrading at the center position. Nelson was believed to be Minnesota's top target, and the veteran center signing a three-year, $7.5 million AAV deal with Colorado quickly pushed them to Plan B. The Wild do have money to spend, with roughly $15.6 million in cap space, but there aren't many great options in that backup plan. John Tavares would much rather stay in Toronto if it can work out. Jonathan Toews, 37 and trying to mount a career comeback, is considering three to four teams, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, including the Avalanche and his hometown Winnipeg Jets. Matt Duchene said he loved playing for John Hynes in Nashville, but he wants to return to Dallas and we're not sure Duchene is someone the Wild have interest in. Sam Bennett is either re-signing with the Florida Panthers or potentially breaking the bank on the open market. Claude Giroux wants to stay in Ottawa, and he's mostly a winger these days anyway. Jeff Skinner could be had on the cheap, but he too mostly plays wing and has lots of defensive warts. Before, the Wild may have entertained trading Rossi, a pending restricted free agent who is seeking a long-term contract, for a scoring winger. Now it's hard to trade a young center without getting a center back in that deal or a subsequent one. Guerin made it clear after the season that upgrading the center position — and getting help for Joel Eriksson Ek — was the team's biggest need this summer. He has to know by now that if the Wild trade Rossi, the team's second-leading scorer last season, without getting a top-six center elsewhere, the team would be significantly weaker up the middle even with the expected addition of touted prospect Danila Yurov. Guerin told The Athletic before the Stanley Cup Final that if he traded Rossi or anybody else, he didn't want to make his team worse. And since trading Rossi would lead to a removal of at least a 20-goal, 60-point scorer, Guerin's words probably mean he wants a solid player back for Rossi, not futures. Advertisement And there's the potential problem. League-wide, there are a lot of teams that seem to want to add this offseason but not subtract. And with the cap rising, several teams have the ability to do just that — which may put the Wild in a pickle. If Guerin doesn't get what he wants for Rossi, would he ever circle back and offer Rossi a two- or three-year deal at a high AAV north of $5.5 million or $6 million, similar to what the Carolina Hurricanes did with Martin Necas last summer? Necas wanted a fresh start. Carolina wanted to give him a fresh start. The difference there is that Carolina found a couple of trades it was willing to do, but Necas wouldn't agree to an extension with those teams in advance. That put the kibosh on the trades and the two sides reluctantly came to a deal and punted making a decision on his long-term future down the road. He was ultimately dealt to Colorado in Carolina's package for Mikko Rantanen. So if Guerin can't find the right deal, is there a chance he and agent Ian Pulver could come to a similar resolution? After all, even though Rossi played the third-fewest minutes on the team in the playoffs, if the AAV was high enough, it may cause him to trust that he'll continue to be in a top-six role and have the ability to produce at a level that would earn him a big contract on his next deal, in Minnesota or elsewhere. Even if the Wild try to trade Rossi (or a bigger package) to net another top-six center, how many of those guys are actually available? The number of teams looking to add both takes away a lot of options for Minnesota and creates more competition for the small number of targets available. The Canucks have interest in Rossi, so would Elias Pettersson make sense even at $10 million per? Perhaps, but LeBrun reported the Canucks are leaning toward not trading him before his no-move clause kicks in July 1. New Islanders GM Mathieu Darche, hoping to bring the team back to the playoffs, told centers Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal that they're not going anywhere. Jared McCann, as intriguing an option as he'd be, is not likely to get moved by the Seattle Kraken if they, like others, want to add and not subtract. Advertisement The Rangers just dealt one of the last pieces of their longtime core in Chris Kreider, so does that make them any more likely to trade Mika Zibanejad, who has five years left with an $8.5 million AAV cap hit and a full no-move clause? There's a lot of talk that Nazem Kadri could be traded, but Calgary wants to add a center and maybe not delete. Plus, he has a no-move. It has been speculated that William Karlsson could be traded by Vegas. A league source says that's not true. No doubt Guerin is kicking tires and is motivated to make trades sooner rather than later. But some teams may not get serious until closer to the draft later this month. And the Wild would probably want a resolution before July 1, when Rossi is eligible to sign an offer sheet elsewhere. But there's pressure here. Guerin himself acknowledged before last season that the Wild have not yet been a 'serious contender.' Minnesota hasn't gotten past the first round since 2015, though its hard-fought series loss to Vegas in May gave many in the organization optimism the Wild are close to getting over the hump. 'You know me now. I like to be aggressive. I don't want to sit on my hands at all,' Guerin said after the season. 'And I'm kind of tired of doing that. Since I walked through the door, my goal has been to build a championship-caliber team in this market. And that's what I want to do. 'I don't want to sign any stupid contracts or anything like that. But I want to make this team better than it is today.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
4 Nations Face-Off final: Hockey history favors Canada in championship matchups vs. USA
The USA and Canada will play for the championship of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night in Boston. The Americans won 3-1 when the teams met in the round robin, but Canada has the historical edge against the United States in championship games of best-on-best tournaments. A look at how the USA has fared in championship matchups against Canada: The Americans tied the game on a Zach Parise goal with 25 seconds left in regulation. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby then scored the golden goal for Canada at 7:40 of overtime. That started an international run for Canada. The country won the 2014 Olympics (beating the USA in the semifinals) and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (Crosby was MVP). The United States had the home crowd in Utah and the "Miracle on Ice" coach in Herb Brooks. But Canada got big games from future Hall of Famers. Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic each scored twice and Paul Kariya also scored as Canada overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win Olympic gold for the first time since 1952. Martin Brodeur made 31 saves. This, along with the 1980 Olympics, is one of USA Hockey's bigger moments. Canada won the opener of the best-of-three final in Philadelphia, then the Americans needed to win twice in Montreal for the title. They had two 5-2 victories and overcame two one-goal deficits. After Adam Foote put Canada ahead 2-1, the USA scored four times in the final four minutes to stun Canada in the final game. Keith Tkachuk, father of U.S. 4 Nations Face-Off players Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, scored five goals in that tournament. Canada swept the final with 4-1 and 4-2 victories. Canada's Steve Larmer had two goals (one short-handed) and an assist in the second game. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA vs Canada: History favors Canadians in 4 Nations Face-Off final
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
4 Nations Face-Off final: Hockey history favors Canada in championship matchups vs. USA
4 Nations Face-Off final: Hockey history favors Canada in championship matchups vs. USA Show Caption Hide Caption Five storylines you need to know going into the 2024-2025 NHL season Mackenzie Salmon breaks down the top five NHL stories as the season begins underway. Sports Pulse The USA and Canada will play for the championship of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night in Boston. The Americans won 3-1 when the teams met in the round robin, but Canada has the historical edge against the United States in championship games of best-on-best tournaments. A look at how the USA has fared in championship matchups against Canada: 2010 Olympics: Canada 3, USA 2 (OT) The Americans tied the game on a Zach Parise goal with 25 seconds left in regulation. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby then scored the golden goal for Canada at 7:40 of overtime. That started an international run for Canada. The country won the 2014 Olympics (beating the USA in the semifinals) and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (Crosby was MVP). 2002 Olympics: Canada 5, USA 2 The United States had the home crowd in Utah and the "Miracle on Ice" coach in Herb Brooks. But Canada got big games from future Hall of Famers. Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic each scored twice and Paul Kariya also scored as Canada overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win Olympic gold for the first time since 1952. Martin Brodeur made 31 saves. 1996 World Cup of Hockey: USA wins final series 2-1 This, along with the 1980 Olympics, is one of USA Hockey's bigger moments. Canada won the opener of the best-of-three final in Philadelphia, then the Americans needed to win twice in Montreal for the title. They had two 5-2 victories and overcame two one-goal deficits. After Adam Foote put Canada ahead 2-1, the USA scored four times in the final four minutes to stun Canada in the final game. Keith Tkachuk, father of U.S. 4 Nations Face-Off players Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, scored five goals in that tournament. 1991 Canada Cup: Canada wins final series 2-0 Canada swept the final with 4-1 and 4-2 victories. Canada's Steve Larmer had two goals (one short-handed) and an assist in the second game.
New York Times
14-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
LeBrun: Canada vs. USA rivalry enters new era with same intensity
MONTREAL — It is almost 15 years to the day. Feb. 21, 2010. Vancouver Olympics. Team USA 5, Team Canada 3. Why is that score relevant? It was Team Canada's last loss in best-on-best hockey, a span of 17 games through the final four games of the Vancouver Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics (6-0-0), the 2016 World Cup (6-0-0) and Wednesday's opening win over Sweden in 4 Nations Face-Off. Advertisement 'They've not lost since then?' Zach Parise asked Friday. 'I did not know that. That's crazy.' I don't think the former Team USA star is alone in not knowing that. Thanks to an eight-and-a-half-year drought without a best-on-best hockey tournament, it's pretty easy to forget these things. So yes, Team USA is trying to snap quite the best-on-break streak for Team Canada when they meet Saturday night in a 4 Nations round-robin game at what should be a charged-up Bell Centre. 'I hadn't even thought about that to be honest. That's pretty impressive,'' Drew Doughty, who has been part of it entirely, said Friday about the 17-game win streak for Team Canada in best-on-best. 'But we don't want it to stop there. Let's keep it going. We want to win out the tournament. That's the goal always. The U.S. represents a tough challenge.' Scott Niedermayer was Team Canada's captain when that 17-win streak began back in Vancouver. 'That's impressive,'' the Hockey Hall of Famer defenseman said Friday. 'Especially with the idea that the U.S. is strong and they do have good players and some of the other countries as well. So that makes that really impressive, actually.'' And as Niedermayer was quick to point out, it more or less parallels Sidney Crosby's amazing streak. He's 22-0 as Team Canada captain dating back to the start of the Sochi Olympics (which includes World Championships as well). 'The record of Team Canada with him leading the charge, it doesn't get any better, obviously,' marvelled Niedermayer. But here comes Team USA, which on Thursday night snapped a five-game losing streak in best-on-best dating back to Sochi and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. This is a new generation of Team USA stars looking to open up an era full of their own championships and gold medals. And knock down Team Canada a peg in doing so. Advertisement Two powerhouses colliding Saturday night — and maybe again next Thursday in Boston in the championship game. 'It's a hockey game you love to be part of,' Crosby said Friday of the USA-Canada rivalry. Two-time Olympic champion Chris Pronger points all the way back to the 1991 Canada Cup for when the USA-Canada hockey rivalry truly began to take shape. That year, the U.S. reached that tournament's final for the first time before losing to Canada. All of which set up the next best-on-best event, where the U.S. won the re-branded World Cup of Hockey in 1996. Pronger played in both the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2010 Vancouver gold medal games. Which one stands out the most for him? 'Probably 2010 because they beat us in the round-robin and there was a lot of maybe swelled heads on their side, thinking that they were going to run roughshod over us as we found our solid footing and figured out how we needed to play and come together as a unit,' Pronger said. 'I thought for the most part we dominated that gold medal game and had the better of the chances.' Ryan Miller was unbelievable throughout that Olympic tournament in 2010 for that underdog Team USA squad that came oh-so-close to the upset, losing in overtime on Crosby's golden goal. That Olympic performance was one of those career-defining moments for Miller. That's how stellar he was. 'It was a great tournament,' Miller said of the experience. 'Everyone remembers Sid, and rightly so, capping off the tournament. What's funny is that, over the years, we ended up training in California. There was a little bit of a bond behind the scenes where he's really classy about everything, right? There's a lot of respect between the two of us. That was a cool part of that.'' But USA-Canada on that stage? Nothing like it. 'You want to compete against the best in sport,' said Miller, the former Buffalo Sabres star goalie. 'I had a chance to do that in a number of situations, but obviously that one was probably the best chance to play against the best that Canada had to offer. Advertisement 'I'm still proud of it, but still angry, too.' It was Parise who tied it late for Team USA, stunning the home Vancouver crowd and sending it to overtime. What a moment right then and there for Parise in his career. 'From an individual standpoint, that was probably the coolest moment in my career,' he said. 'Just with the importance of the game. It's the Olympics, you know what I mean? Just to give ourselves a chance (in overtime) and go in that locker room. You never know, next goal wins. 'We were right there. Unfortunately for us, we were right there. But what an awesome game to be a part of.' He remembers all of it so vividly. 'Obviously, the gold medal game didn't go our way. But that gold medal game was incredible,' said Parise. 'I remember the pace of the game. It's just so different than the (Stanley Cup playoffs), it's one and done. You could just feel the importance of every play that was made. The fans are on the edge of their seats the whole game. It was unbelievable. It was one of the few days in my career where you go in there and you're genuinely nervous the whole game. At least for me. All game long.' While Niedermayer takes great pride in captaining Canada to that gold medal — in his native province of British Columbia, no less — he is quick to point out his first best-on-best experience against Team USA was the 1996 World Cup. 'Just a few months ago I watched a few highlights of what that looked like, and man, it was a competition at the very least, wow,' Niedermayer said with a chuckle while recalling what a physical, brawling best-of-three final that was. 'But the U.S.-Canada rivalry, maybe growing up it was Russia-Canada, but for my playing career and currently, it's definitely the rivalry,' added Niedermayer. 'Probably the two best hockey nations. Lots of talent on both rosters. I'm looking forward to it (Saturday night) as a fan for sure.' Advertisement The '96 World Cup win for USA Hockey had a lasting impact, to be sure. It was the first time the U.S. felt realistically on the same level as Team Canada at best-on-best. Miller's 2010 silver medallists brought back some of those same feelings, too, as far as the next generation of American stars announcing themselves. That helped pave the way for this current squad. 'I'm glad this generation now has grown up having so much success in World Juniors and Under-18s and we've been waiting a long time to see some of these guys play best-on-best,' said Miller. 'So, I'm excited to see it. I'm happy for them. And I'm glad the NHL and NHLPA have come to some agreements about continuing to see the best play each other. Finally.' As Pronger pointed out, with back-to-back World Juniors gold medals, USA Hockey is on a roll. 'The American game, if you will, has taken on a whole new level,' said the Hockey Hall of Famer. 'It's great for fans and it's great for Canada having another challenge outside of what was always Canada-Russia.' Pronger, based in St. Louis, has seen the growth of USA Hockey firsthand. 'Oh absolutely. It's crazy to see the evolution,' he said. 'And obviously now, with the Tkachuks and the players on the U.S. side and the lineage of the parents, and where players are coming from, Auston Matthews from Phoenix and seeing that southern expansion era of player coming to the forefront now for the U.S. and what it means for the game. And it certainly means a lot for the players.' It's next-level time for Team USA. 'I mean, the talent level has just taken off,' said Parise. 'I remember when people would always make a big deal of the Canadian teams, like Rick Nash being on a checking line. They had a 50-goal scorer on a checking line. You look at it now, the U.S. has really good players that are playing fourth-line roles. So we've closed that gap. We've caught up. And I think it says a lot for American hockey. It's awesome.'' Advertisement Doughty says bring it on. 'The rivalry is real,' the two-time Olympic champion said Friday. 'The rivalry with the United States was developed from when I was 8 years old because you start going to play tournaments in Michigan and places around the U.S. and immediately you're kind of taught, 'Don't lose to the Americans.' So that rivalry goes back far. It doesn't stop. 'Even at 35, I want to beat them more than anyone.' (Photo from 2010 Olympics: Cris Bouroncle / Getty Images)
