An Outrageous Blockbuster Trade the Buffalo Sabers Can Make with the Wild

There is no doubt that the Buffalo Sabers will make a big trade in the summer of 2024, as no playoff drought should start near the end of a former head coach’s tenure and continue into this second term. same head coach. But then, the Sabers went through six head coaches between Lindy Ruff’s departure and his return to the organization, none of whom managed to take the team to the playoffs.

So, trading for a top-six talent is a necessity, and I’ve discussed several in the past, some involving youngsters like Joel Farabee and Trevor Zegras and others involving the experienced Pavel Buchnevich. But let’s have a little fun and talk about a player whose name has surprisingly been the subject of trade rumors, namely striker Marco Rossi.

Of course, this is another potential trade that would involve general manager Kevyn Adams moving a lot of capital, as Rossi is a productive young player that Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin has yet to need to make a rash decision. But, thanks to the Wild having some outstanding centers in their prospect pool, primarily Danila Yurov, that could leave Rossi as the odd man out.

The Sabers are still young, so offering a top prospect who has yet to play in the NHL full-time, as well as their 11th overall pick, would make sense here. But if Bill Guerin finds himself fielding offers for Rossi, the aforementioned package would more likely be considered as a starting point, given the center’s productivity in his first full season.

Rossi played in all 82 games and scored 21 goals and 40 points, earning a 12.6 shooting percentage during an average total ice time of 16:44. He also returned a quality possession percentage of 4.8 and scored 45 goals on the ice at even strength, which was 1.5 more than expected, although he was 2.3 below his xGF in the same situation. But it was still the first year of what would be a successful NHL career for Rossi.

Rossi will be 23 this year, and if the Sabers trade him, he would join a roster that also includes forwards like Zach Benson, Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn, all of whom are also in their early 20s – minus Benson. , who is only 19 years old.

Overall, I’d like to see a more established player with more NHL experience in Buffalo, but Marco Rossi’s long-term potential for a 2024 first-round pick, a high-end prospect and maybe be lesser assets if the situation calls for it because that could make this hypothetical exchange interesting.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)