It’s no secret that the New Jersey Devil needs an offensive upgrade. In the exit interview, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald himself said: “I hit my head on the wall every day and wondered: ‘What is a depth score?'”.
Related: The Devil’s Target for Top 3 Drafts in 2025 NHL Draft
In the 2025 calendar year, the Devils hit only 69 goals in the NHL’s 5v5-31. Their structural defense and intense power play make them feel no matter they make it to the playoffs, but they can’t continue to rely on the same guy to attack. As we saw in the Stanley Cup playoffs, depth is helpful to bring competitors to pretend.
To play the Devil (HA) advocates, they fought the Carolina Hurricane in Round 1 and fought an impressive battle despite their bad luck. But they had five forwards scoring goals throughout the series: Nico Hillchel, Jesper Blatt, Dawson Mercer, Timo Meyer and Stefan Northon. Compared to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals, 13 forwards found the back of the net.
Enter: Marco Rossi
Minnesota Wild center/winter Marco Rossi was the 9th overall pick in 2020, and was only 23 years old, with an impressive 60 points this season (24g, 36A). But, according to Anthony Dimarco of The Daily Conf, the wild seems to be just seeking a first-round pick for him. Why? He is looking for a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV – average annual value), which seems a bit hesitant.
To some extent, their concerns are understandable. The 2024-25 campaign is just Rossi’s second full-out as NHLER. He scored 40 points in his first full season (2023-24). He is also one of the youngest players in the league, 5-foot-9, which raises some questions about his performance in the playoffs. He held his own assists with two goals and assists in six playoff games this season, but that was too small to say a lot.
Two factors play a role considering that the devil should definitely take action here. First, the cap will only continue to rise: $7.5 million for 2025-26; another $8.5 million in the 2026-27 season, and then another $9.5 million in the 2027-28 season.
The devil locked Jack Hughes into 2029-30 years, and it would be even more regrettable until 2026-27. Meanwhile, they only need Rossi to become 3C. And $7 million sound Like a lot of third-line centers, this is how the rising cap will age the contract better by year:
The average salary of 13 more than 24 players who scored between 58-62 points this season is $6.31 million. As the cap rises, $7 million, especially for a 23-year-old who has the potential to reach a higher threshold, doesn’t seem really unreasonable. And it is always possible to ask a little bit from Rossi’s camp.
Additionally, senior data from Ronno Hockey shows that although his game is not much. He is an above average finish (66th percentile – %ILE), above average (71%Ile), always fined (70%Ile), and is very stable on the defensive end (70%ILE). NHL Edge said his top skating speed is 22.81 miles per hour, which will make him Bratt’s fifth-place devil in the league’s 75th percentile.
Of course, without some hats, space gymnastics, the Devil did nothing during the offseason. They may need to expand defenseman Luke Hughes and add another move forward, whether or not they bring someone like Rossi.
There will definitely be some tough decisions like promoting Nico Daws to a full-time backup goalkeeper to save some money. If they think it’s the best, or send a bottom six in a salary dump, they might have to trade Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey to free up space… maybe all the above space?
Rosie can tear it apart. 😯
For Marco Rossi, it was a three-game winning streak. pic.twitter.com/guzf0wally
– NHL (@NHL) October 27, 2023
The Devils don’t have a first-round pick this year, but given the first question to ask a smaller person in that draft, they can certainly make it work in some way. Their next season is their first, and in their ideal world, it should be a late stage. They also have a few seconds this year, and there are plenty of B-class prospects that they might attract the wild.
Some will also wonder if Rossi doesn’t want to be the third liner, which is a 60-point campaign, but sometimes he thrives on the wing. The devil may be exploiting him there while joining Blatt to form a dangerous 1-2 punch on the left.
The next few weeks are crucial to shaping the future of the devil. Frankly, they can’t afford any mistakes, but they’re lucky than most other teams, with most of their core staying in a long time.
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