Golden Knights Free Agency
Former Golden Knight, Original Misfit Marchessault Open to Trade
Original Misfit Jonathan Marchessault signed with the Nashville Predators last offseason after failing to come to terms with the Vegas Golden Knights on a new contract. Just one year into his five-year, $5.5 million contract, there’s trouble in paradise.
On Wednesday, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that Jonathan Marchessault was open to a trade.
This isn’t completely unexpected. Despite signing several big-name Free Agents, the Predators had their worst season in franchise history and finished with a record of 30-44-8. Their offense was meek and uninspiring, and they scored the second-least goals in the league. The Predators finished the season with a league-worst -52.11 goals scored above expected.
Even Marchessault wasn’t spared from this offensive dry spell, though he only scored 2.2 goals fewer than expected. He saw his 2023-24 goal total cut cleanly in half, dropping from 42 to 21. His shooting percentage dropped from 15.8% to 10.2%, and he had his worst goals-per-game percentage since his first season in 2015-16.
Marchessault’s contributions propelled the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup in 2023. With 13 goals and 25 points in 22 games, Marchessault took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP.
Could there be a reunion? Maybe, but Marchessault’s contract was a point of contention even before he left in Free Agency. Nashville could retain some salary, but the Golden Knights don’t have many attractive tradeable assets. The Predators want to get younger, and the Golden Knights can’t exactly offer them that.
But after a disappointing postseason that ended with 127 scoreless minutes against Stuart Skinner, the Golden Knights might be more receptive to Marchessault’s monetary demands. It’s hard to imagine a player with six postseason game-winning goals being shut out two games in a row.
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