Marco Rossi: David Pagnotta places the Habs among the teams linked to the case

The Habs’ plan this summer is clear: they want to improve their attack. Whether it’s via the draft, the free agent market, or a trade, we can expect to see one or more forwards come to town.

The names of Martin Necas and Trevor Zegras have been bandied about… but we can also wonder if it won’t be through a big transaction that nobody is expecting.

All in all, we can expect the Habs to be tied to every available forward…

And David Pagnotta added one to the list earlier today.

In a text for TheFourthPeriod, Pagnotta mentioned 25 players likely to be traded… and of the lot, he mentions Marco Rossi, before adding that the Habs are among the teams linked to the dossier.

Summer Trade Watch 2024: Marner, Markstrom lead the list https://t.co/BsBVpzSGhw

– The Fourth Period (@TFP) June 17, 2024

Our colleagues at HabsAndLNH also had a word to say.

What you need to know, however, is that the Wild wouldn’t sell Rossi for a pick or a young prospect. The club would like to make a “talent swap”, which means,picking up a player who can help them on a short term.

Does the Habs have the ammunition to pull this off? Good question, and one wonders whether the other teams named by Pagnotta (Flyers, Flames, Utah squad and Senators) would be in a better position to make the Wild happy.

In reality, Rossi would bring talent to Montreal. Much like with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook, the Habs would be banking on a young player (he’ll be 23 next September) bursting with talent to take him to the next level in Montreal.

And at 23, he would fit into the “age range” of the Habs’ current core.

That said, as my colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois pointed out in early May, Rossi would be another small forward in the Habs’ forward group. With Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook and even Joshua Roy, many players aren’t known for their size.

Juraj Slafkovský, Kirby Dach and (possibly) Cayden Lindstrom are a good start… but are they enough with so many small players in town? One also wonders whether, with Rossi, drafting Ivan Demidov would make sense given the large number of talented small forwards.

Rossi is a name to watch, and the talent is undeniable. That said, I doubt whether the Habs are the right dance partner for the Wild in this matter.