With trade rumours circulating throughout the market, one surprising bit of news popped up earlier today regarding the Vancouver Canucks’ pursuit of Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi last year.

Rossi was a frontrunner for names that the Canucks were eyeing to help fill-out their center depth, though according to a report by Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic, this move would have required Vancouver to move on from one of their own young centers in exchange. 

“Ironically, the Canucks turned down an offer from the Wild for Rossi at the draft that would have involved Aatu Räty [. . .], the No. 15 pick and goalie Artūrs Šilovs,” The Athletic reporters write in today’s column.   

Rossi, 24, has scored four goals and nine assists in 17 games this season and has been dealing with a lower-body injury for the past few weeks. On Saturday, the Wild lost 4–2 to Vancouver, with Räty leading the way with two goals (and one disallowed tally). Prior to his injury, Rossi had only scored once in his past five games, but put up a six-game point streak before his dry spell. 

Had the Canucks made this move, realistically, they’d still be in a similar short-term situation to the one they’re in now, albeit without top prospect Braeden Cootes in the organization. As well, all things considered, Räty has performed decently throughout the season. It’s hard to say whether Rossi’s presence in the lineup would impact the Canucks’ injury issues or not, but it’s likely that things would have stayed similar. 

The Canucks will take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight for their third-straight home game. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. 

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