MN Wild Lose Another Top Player to Injury

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Marco Rossi - Seattle Kraken at Minnesota Wild
Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Wild entered the week as losers in four of their last five games and desperate to keep their season from spiraling out of control. On the schedule were two teams visiting from the west coast, the LA Kings and Seattle Kraken.

On Monday, the Wild — who have to be the most injury-riddled team in the NHL this season — were able to right the ship, with a 3-1 victory over the Kings, ending their streak of five-straight games without a point in regulation.

Of course, nothing comes without sacrifice for the MN Wild this season. During the win, they lost their other assistant captain, Marcus Foligno, to an upper-body injury. Wednesday night vs the Seattle Kraken, the Wild took an early 3-0 lead in the first period.

Minnesota Wild lose Marco Rossi to injury

But once again, they paid the toll shortly thereafter. In the first period, Marco Rossi was hit on the inside of his left knee by a Matt Boldy wrister, which immediately dropped him to the ice. A few minutes later, the 23-year-old center was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

We’ll wait until after the game for the next update, regarding Marco Rossi’s injury. But for now, his exit leaves the MN Wild without superstar Kirill Kaprizov, along with Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Johansson, Jonas Brodin and the aforementioned Foligno.

Just make it stop…

We all love to talk about the “next man up” mentality, but that usually isn’t associated with the 6th, 7th or 8th man up. Remember, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin decided not to place Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek on long term injured reserve before the trade deadline.

Doing so would have allowed the Minnesota Wild a boatload of cap space to work with before the deadline. Rumors had them linked to some of the top names on the trade block, too. To this point, neither Eriksson Ek nor Kirill Kaprizov have started skating again.

After a revival season in 2023-24, where Marco Rossi scored a career-high 21 goals and assisted on 19 more (40 points), the young Austrian has taken the next step in his development this year. Entering tonight’s matchup, Rossi had already matched his goal total from one year ago, while piling on another 13 assists, for a total of 53 points.

Related: Wild Division Rival Weirdly Obsessed with Minnesota at NHL Trade Deadline

As recent as early this season, Marco Rossi was reportedly on the Minnesota Wild trade block. He’s played so well, however, that Guerin was all but forced to take him off. Now, he’s the latest top talent to have his season put in jeopardy by an injury.

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