The downfall of the Toronto Maple Leafs this postseason can be blamed on a lot of things, but scoring depth has to be the primary reason why they weren't able to get out of the second round over the Florida Panthers. They can fix that problem by trading for one player this offseason.
Marco Rossi is reportedly on the trade block for the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old center has just not been what Wild general manager Bill Guerin wants as a rough-and-tumble first-line center, but instead a player focused on applying pressure to defenders and having a heavy possession game in addition to a scoring touch.
For some reason, Guerin won't bend and with Rossi heading into restricted free agency this summer, it is likely that the young Austrian center is moved before training camp. The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be interested.
With so much in fluxuation on their roster -- Mitch Marner likely leaving and John Tavares potentially coming back but only at a steep paycut -- they can shake things up and use the little assets they have to take advantage of a team not seeing what they have. Because, Rossi is really good.
In his second consecutive season where he played all 82 games — impressive after having an early-career health scare with COVID — he scored 24 goals and 60 points while averaging 18:15 TOI. And when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 for the Wild this season, they had 56.61 percent of goals scored, 50.8 percent of the shots on goal, 49.97 percent of the shot attempt share, and 54.26 percent of the expected goal share. Basically, the Wild were the better team with Rossi on the ice.
Additionally, Rossi's 2.41 points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 just so happened to be the exact same rate of even-strength production as the Leafs' own young power winger, Matthew Knies. That number was also more than some players like Kevin Fiala, Anthony Cirelli, Pavel Buchnevich, Brock Nelson, Jonathan Huberdeau, Andrei Svechnikov, Sam Bennett, Adam Fantilli, Elias Pettersson, Timo Meier, Quinton Byfield, Josh Norris, Steven Stamkos, Lane Hutson, Bo Horvat -- okay, you get the idea.
Rossi had a first-line level of production but is for some reason on his way out of Minnesota purely because he is listed at 5-foot-9. But, while the listed height might scare away some front offices, Rossi does not play like a minuscule center. He gets involved in battles along the boards and has a sturdy enough frame to take plenty of contact.
Do you think a typical small center could get as many shots off around the net as Rossi did just this past season?
— thomas (@sludgewilliams) May 28, 2025
That shot chart doesn't look like it belongs to someone who isn't afraid of taking contact for a scoring chance. Exactly the opposite, actually.
Even if Toronto re-signs Tavares, having Marco Rossi as an option to be either on the second or third line is a luxury. He would work tirelessly to help carry along whatever players are in the middle six next season, and with the amount of talent the Maple Leafs have, it isn't out of the question that we are talking about a 30-goal scorer as soon as next season.
Brad Treliving should be doing everything he can to get involved in the trade discussions happening here. It could solve a whole lot of the Leafs' problems.