Analysis: Letting Jonathan Marchessault walk is a failure for the Golden Knights

By Jack Williams (contact)

Tuesday, July 2, 2024 | 2 a.m.

No matter how much you love someone, sometimes you must let them go.

That must be how Golden Knights’ executives feel about letting Jonathan Marchessault walk to sign with the Nashville Predators as part of Monday’s opening of NHL free agency.

Marchessault had made it clear over the past couple months that he did not want to leave Las Vegas despite the recent expiration of his six-year contract. Days after the Dallas Stars eliminated the Golden Knights in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marchessault was almost pleading to stay put in a place he referred to as “home.”

“I want to be a Golden Knight for life,” he said.

The feeling was apparently not mutual.

Although Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon shared similar thoughts publicly and praised Marchessault for his contributions to the franchise, it doesn’t appear there was a serious effort to retain him.

Vegas was cash-strapped up against the salary cap but could have found a way to keep Marchessault if it was a priority — especially in hindsight after the terms of his deal with Nashville came out.

Marchessault signed a five-year deal with an annual average value of $5.5 million. That’s only a small raise compared to his last contract that paid him $5 million per year.

“It was pretty tough, to be honest,” Marchessault told TSN after signing with Nashville. “The tough part of it also was there wasn’t really a decent offer on the table. I don’t think they tried their best to keep me, but it’s part of the business.”

It’s hard to think about the Golden Knights without Marchessault, who’s been a staple since the start of the franchise and someone who imbued the team with much of its energy on a daily basis.

Defenseman Brayden McNabb went as far as to say that he couldn’t imagine the locker room without Marchessault earlier this offseason.

“Everyone knows what he means to the city and fan base,” McNabb said. “He’s done everything consistently.”

Marchessault’s place in Las Vegas sports history is secure, especially after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Golden Knights’ most valuable player during their 2023 run to the Stanley Cup.

He departs on a high after leading the Golden Knights this past season with 42 goals and 69 points in 82 games.

So why is the most golden of knights being exiled from the kingdom?

It's in part because Vegas got too risky with the salary cap. Even though they could have found a way to keep Marchessault, it wasn’t going to be easy after last year’s trade-deadline moves to acquire defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Tomas Hertl.

Signing Hanifin to an eight-year deal with an annual cap hit of $7.35 million and taking on Hertl’s contract worth $8.1 million over the next six years left precious little room.

The hope was that the new high-priced players would help the current core make one last run at the Stanley Cup in last season’s playoffs when teams are allowed to be over the salary cap. A breakup would be unavoidable after that financially, but the farewells would sting a lot less if the Cup stayed in Vegas.

But the Golden Knights couldn’t sync all the pieces together quickly enough on the ice and lost in seven games to the Stars.

That gave McCrimmon and Co. an extra month-and-a-half to figure out how to manage the salary cap ideally. Signs were evident immediately Marchessault wasn’t part of those plans.

Marchessault said he didn’t hear from the Golden Knights’ front office for the entire month of May. That must have hurt.

This is a legendary player for the franchise who wanted to stay badly. His teammates wanted him back, and so did coach Bruce Cassidy.

An offer was reportedly extended, but the two sides were far apart and Vegas is now without one of its favorite sons.

The Golden Knights lost five other players to start free agency — William Carrier to the Carolina Hurricanes, Alec Martinez to the Chicago Blackhawks, Chandler Stephenson to the Seattle Kraken, Michael Amadio to the Ottawa Senators and Anthony Mantha to the Calgary Flames — but Marchessault will leave the largest void.

Vegas now has about $8 million in cap space and could still live up to its reputation as an active participant in the trade market with defenseman Shea Theodore present in rumors.

Theodore currently stands as one of three “Original Misfits” left on the roster along with McNabb and forward William Karlsson.

Marchessault might have fit the moniker most of all, and three’s a lingering sense of betrayal in cutting him loose. He helped build the franchise into what it’s become.

No matter who Vegas can finish out of free agency, this was a failure. Marchessault wanted to retire a Golden Knight, and he should have been granted that wish.

[email protected] / 702-259-8814 / @jackgwilliams