When the Vancouver Canucks shocked the hockey world and dealt Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in a blockbuster trade, one of the positions the team was hoping to fill was the second-line centre position. Ever since the team traded JT Miller, it’s been a position they have been actively trying to fill via both the trade market and free agency.

In the trade that sent Miller to the New York Rangers, one of the pieces the Canucks received was Filip Chytil, whom they thought would fill Miller’s spot. However, injuries have prevented him from playing to his full potential as the team’s second-line centre.

Fast-forward to the Hughes trade: Marco Rossi enters. One of the key returns involved in the trade, Rossi, is a player the Canucks have previously been linked to. He fits the mould of exactly what the Canucks have been rumoured to have been looking for: a skilled forward under the age of 25.

If all goes to plan, the Canucks may have gotten exactly what they wished for in Rossi.

In his six seasons with the Wild, the 24-year-old Rossi frequently centred a line with Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, two of the Wild’s top wingers. Despite playing with those two, Rossi often found himself competing for ice time with players such as Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman.

On the Canucks, Rossi will have more than enough time to display the skill that made him such an important target for the Canucks this past offseason. Through his first five games with the team, Rossi found himself playing alongside Brock Boeser and, recently, Conor Garland. That duo have looked good together, doing so with David Kämpf as their centreman. Placing a more established scoring threat in Rossi between them should, in theory, give the Canucks an offensive boost.

But it’s been a bit of a slow start with the Rossi, with only one point in five games, but he has found chemistry with Minnesota native Boeser in particular. If Boeser and Rossi can continue to develop chemistry long-term, it would be a welcome sight for the Canucks, as both players have struggled to produce this season.

Before coming over to the Canucks, Rossi had four goals and 13 points in 17 games with the Wild. Last season, Rossi set a career high in goals with 24, along with 60 points. But much of that was him, and how much of that was him benefiting from playing with two play drivers in Kaprizov and Boldy?

In 68 5v5 minutes with Rossi, Kaprizov and Boldy on the ice that season, the Wild controlled 59.4% of the shot share. But with Rossi on the ice without Kaprizov or Boldy, the Wild controlled just 50.4% of the shot share at 5v5. So now, without both of them in Vancouver, Rossi will be expected to drive play on his own line.

But it hasn’t been the most encouraging start for Rossi in a Canucks uniform. With Rossi on the ice, teams have outshot the Canucks 27-42 (38.57%) at 5v5, and out-attempted them 57-92 (38.26%). However, he’s currently skating as the team’s top centre with Pettersson on the shelf. And in Vancouver, he’s not fortunate to play with the calibre of wingers like Kaprizov or Boldy. He’ll have to show he can carry more of the load on his line with his current allotment of wingers in Vancouver.

There’s no doubt that Rossi has the skill to be a top-six centre in the NHL, but at the age of 24, Rossi still has room to grow. If he can develop into a consistent 50-60 point centre with the Canucks, it would pay huge dividends as the team continues to rebuild its core.

And if the Austrian forward can become that player, the team would likely be set down the middle with Pettersson and Rossi. The team also has young centres like Braeden Cootes and Aatu Räty waiting to break out as full-time NHL players, but they’ll need to rely on Rossi until they become ready.

If the Canucks’ plan for a quick turnaround is possible, it all starts with Marco Rossi further developing and contributing as a secondary option down the middle behind Elias Pettersson.

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