As the NHL draft breaks on the horizon, the offseason rumors begin to heat up. And some of the smoke around 23-year-old center Marco Rossi has returned. He was originally rumored to be on the trade block back at the start of the 2024-25 season, but then he had a breakout year where he posted 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games which meant the Wild were going to retain him for their own playoff run. But since that came to an end early, it sounds like they’re ready to once again consider offers for the pending restricted free agent.
There are going to be teams across the league lining up for his services, so the Flyers will have to come with their A-game. The Wild are an up-and-coming team and could very well be looking to step up their play. They’re not dealing Rossi because he’s bad, they’re trading him to fill out their roster at other positions.
According to PuckPedia, the Wild have about $16.5 million in cap space during the 2025 off-season, with nobody of note to get under contract other than Rossi himself. Kirill Kaprizov is a UFA in 2026 and in line for a big payday, but the Wild will have about $46 million in cap space next summer, so there is plenty of wiggle room both now and in the future.
So what could the Flyers offer? How about Cam York, Noah Cates, and two 2025 first round picks?
Cam York
The Wild’s current blue line is kinda old. Jacob Middleton is 29, Jonas Brodin is 31, Zach Bogosian is 34, and captain Jared Spurgeon is 35. But they’ve got Brock Faber, David Jiricek and Zeev Buium ready to replace them, so it makes sense that they’d want another younger hand that could build one of the best young defenses in the league over the next few seasons.
Cam York and former HC john Tortorella didn’t exactly get along in Philly and as a restricted free agent himself, there’s a thought that the relationship between player and team could be beyond repair. He’s easily the Flyers’ best realistic trade chip one way or another, and it’d make sense that he’d be the base of a trade for a center.
Two 2025 first round picks
The knee-jerk reaction from the Flyers faithful is surely going to be hard on this one, but the reality is the 2025 draft is perceived to be pretty weak. The 22nd overall pick and the 31/32 overall pick probably aren’t worth much as prospects for the Flyers. They need quality not quantity when it comes to young players. Rossi is more than likely better than either player they could select.
Plus, the Wild don’t have a first round pick in 2025. They traded their own in the David Jiricek trade. So two firsts could give the Wild a seat at the table to actually draft someone, or if the trade would be made before draft day, it would also give the Wild time to flip them for other assets too.
Noah Cates
If the Wild moving on from Rossi because he’s small and doesn’t play that grinding style, then offer them someone who will. Noah Cates and his whopping 6’2, 192lb frame, an entire two pounds heavier than Rossi’s listed weight, though five inches taller, can provide that two-way middle-six center role Minnesota is apparently interested in.
Cates sounds like he could be selecting arbitration for his next contract with the Flyers, which historically tends to not work out well in the long-term. Plus Sean Couturier is already under contract for four more years and Jett Luchanko may settle in as a middle-six two-way guy himself. The Flyers don’t need three 3Cs under contract.
Anything Else?
This is a pretty solid foundation for a trade. If they would want a different forward in return then swap out Cates with Tyson Foerster and drop one of the first round picks. York, Foerster and a first should still collectively be one of the best offers that any team in the league will realistically offer. This simply isn’t an Owen Tippet and a fourth rounder type of trade.
Will the Flyers do it?
Provided a deal looks something like this, there’s no reason they shouldn’t. Losing York without a real replacement kinda sucks, but it at least opens the spotlight for Emil Andrae to shine.
Simply put they’ve way overcommitted to the current forward group, particularly the wingers, so if they need to lose one or two that aren’t under lifetime contract in order to make a move for a top center, then it’s just going to have to be done.
But, ya know. It’s been over a decade since the Flyers made a blockbuster trade, so despite the desperate need for a young center with upside, consider us skeptical that “big balls Briere” actually has the fortitude to put together a package to get the deal done.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: nhl.com
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