Devils 2025 Trade Targets: Marco Rossi

The New Jersey Devils need to upgrade at center, and Marco Rossi should be one of many trade targets they consider.

---

Follow us on Twitter: @AlexC_NJD, @NJD_OnTheRush

Follow me on Bluesky

---

Marco Rossi has become a bit of a hot topic among New Jersey Devils fans, and he isn't even a Devil. That's because the organization passed on him (among others) for Alexander Holtz in the 2020 draft. That miss played a part in the Devils' struggles this season, but there could be a chance for redemption.

By all accounts, Rossi will be available for trade this offseason. If not, he could be a prime offer sheet candidate. The Devils need to upgrade down the middle and have to consider someone who can play up the lineup due to Jack Hughes' injury concerns. Rossi checks plenty of boxes and should be among the many targets for general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Rossi Is One of the Top Players From the 2020 Draft

Rossi went only two picks after the Devils drafted Holtz with the seventh overall selection in 2020. Depending on where you looked, most public scouting services had Rossi as a top-five prospect in the 2020 draft and ranked him ahead of Holtz.

We'll never know for certain why the Devils passed on Rossi, but it's been their loss. He faced some adversity early in his development due to post-COVID complications, but he's emerged as one of the top players from the 2020 draft.

Rossi finished the 2023-24 season, his rookie year, with 21 goals and 40 points in 82 games for the Minnesota Wild. He followed that up with an even more impressive sophomore campaign, finishing with 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games.

The Wild are not a particularly great five-on-five team, especially offensively. But Rossi has done well to score at five-on-five, averaging 1.73 points per 60 minutes over the last two seasons. The Wild have controlled play with him on the ice, totaling an expected goals share (xG%) of 53.11 percent.

Rossi may be undersized (more on that in a second), but he certainly doesn't play small. He ranked in the 91st percentile in shots off high-danger passes and 87th percentile in chances this season. He's also a solid playmaker/passer, and his two-way impacts this season were excellent:

I know what fans will gripe about with Rossi, and I'd bet the front office has a similar concern, but do the Devils need another sub-6-foot center? Even though Rossi is only 5-foot-9, he weighs 192 pounds. He's not your typical small forward, and certainly doesn't play that way.