The Minnesota Wild-Marco Rossi stalemate could very well have lingered into training camp.

There was no real pressure point, like an arbitration hearing, until then. Everyone was dug in. The Wild were only willing to pay so much. Rossi, a determined and proud player, felt he was worth more.

It could have been a game of chicken.

Fortunately for both sides, it didn’t come to that, with Rossi signing a three-year, $15 million contract last week. No holdout. No hangup. No hard feelings? When Rossi was asked if he was happy with where everything is, he said, “One hundred percent.”

President of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin gets players wanting more. He’s been through multiple contract disputes in his career. But Guerin gave Rossi’s camp credit for re-engaging a month ago, sparking last week’s three-year deal. Rossi will make $4 million the first year, $5 million the second and $6 million the third, setting a higher mark for a potential qualifying offer.

“In the end, it’s the player’s decision to say, ‘That’s good. I’ll take it,’” Guerin said.

This contract seems like a smart compromise for both sides. Rossi, in the end, didn’t have the leverage, especially with no arbitration rights. He could have held out and missed the start of camp to put pressure on the team. But that’s not Rossi’s style, his M.O.

And as much as Rossi needed the Wild, the team needs him, too. Danila Yurov may be a tantalizing center prospect, but he’s still unproven. Guerin said at the end of last season that his No. 1 priority was getting help up the middle for Joel Eriksson Ek. But the free agent class ended up watered down with top guys re-signing (including target Brock Nelson with the Colorado Avalanche). The trade market was quiet. The Wild added Nico Sturm and dealt Freddy Gaudreau, but that’s it.

So if they didn’t keep Rossi, there’d be a pretty good hole there, replacing a top-six center who played in all 82 games in back-to-back seasons. That’s not an enviable position for a franchise looking for its first first-round series victory in a decade.

The Wild are a better team with a motivated Rossi, who plans to arrive in Minnesota the first week of September. And for Rossi, if he continues to grow after a 40-point rookie season and last year’s 60-point follow-up, he’ll be in for a very big payday when he’s next up for a contract.

“That’s a positive thing when players bet on themselves,” Guerin said. “Nowadays, it’s different. This might sound harsh, but you’re betting on yourself with $15 million in your pocket. That’s a pretty good safety net. In this league, we’re not really sending anybody to the poor house.

“But if you want elite money, if you want more, then sometimes, take a shorter-term deal, bet on yourself, put your money where your mouth is and let’s go. I think Marco is that type of guy and he’ll do that.”

Wild GM Bill Guerin says he likes that Marco Rossi is betting on himself with this contract. (Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)

Rossi played in the top six, and sometimes on the top line, for a good chunk of the 2024-25 regular season, ranking second on the team in scoring and third in goals (24). Guerin did point out last week that Rossi’s second-half production dropped (nine goals and 23 points in his final 41 games). Then he was dropped to the fourth line during the first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights and played the third-fewest even-strength minutes among Wild forwards. He still chipped in two goals while playing with Yakov Trenin and Justin Brazeau.  Guerin maintained the lineup shuffling was just a product of adjustments in a playoff series.

But Rossi said after the season that he was “disappointed” in his usage in the playoffs, saying he had a very “honest” conversation with coach John Hynes at their exit meetings. Hynes understood where Rossi was coming from but gave him credit for how he continued to be a “team guy” during it.

Hynes said he texted Rossi after he signed last week, Rossi called him back within a couple of minutes and they had a great chat.

“To me, there are going to be things where you have some conflict at times,” Hynes said. “But how do you communicate through it? And do you have a relationship prior to that? The body of work, through my time with him, he’s played very well. Used as a top-six player. Produced. Had a career year.

“I believe that, yes, sometimes there can be some disagreement or conflict. It’s no different from when a player makes a decision that costs us. I might be upset. But I believe if you’re open and honest and communicate with the players and they understand what it is and there’s a bit of trust there, some things like that don’t turn into something (more).”

There were trade conversations with the Wild and other teams about Rossi over the summer. The market, for whatever reason, wasn’t fruitful enough for Guerin to make a move. He wasn’t “dying” to deal Rossi to begin with, he said. There doesn’t seem to be ill will, with GM and player saying publicly there is a path forward.

“Marco is a big boy, too,” Guerin said. “He’s a pro. He’s been doing this since he was a kid. He gets it. There’s no worry from my end that Marco — his feelings are OK.”

Whether Rossi finishes his three-year deal with the Wild remains to be seen. He does have a very tradeable contract, and he’s not eligible for trade protection. If he plays like he’s capable of playing, he’ll be very attractive to teams, including the Wild. He’s one of the team’s success stories — a rare homegrown center. He’s been through a ton, especially with the heart condition following COVID-19, forcing him to miss a year of development. He’s shown resilience, performing well after getting sent down to AHL Iowa in 2022-23 and staying in Minnesota for most of the summer after that to train, including skipping his sister’s wedding. He also didn’t participate in Austria’s Olympic qualifiers late last summer, taking heed of Hynes’ advice heading into a very important year.

Rossi has garnered his share of respect from teammates in the room.

“I have nothing but great things to say about Marco as a hockey player, as a person,” Matt Boldy said. “And I think he’ll be the first person to tell you that he didn’t care where he was. He wanted to win. … If we won that series and he was our fourth-line center, I’m sure he’d be one of the happiest people in the world right now. And I think that speaks to him as a person.

“The fact that he can be our first-line center and then go play and be our fourth-line center and be equally as effective speaks to his game. It’s hard to do. It’s really hard to do.”

Rossi said he worked on getting bigger, faster, stronger this summer, and climbing the Austrian mountains didn’t hurt that. He also did some faceoff work with Joe Thornton, having already improved from 44.7 percent to 46.8 percent last season. “I got everywhere better,” Rossi said.

“I think he’s just scratching the surface,” Guerin said. “I think a three-year contract gives him good runway to really turn into the player he can eventually become.”

Michael Russo contributed to this report 

(Top photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)