After playing the last seven years with the Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault is a Nashville Predator.
The 2023 Conn Smythe winner agreed to a five-year deal worth $5.5 million each season. Marchessault sees himself on a team that can consistently make the playoffs & he’ll have plenty of chances before he turns 38 at the end of his deal.
Marchessault left Las Vegas, Nevada as the Golden Knight’s top scorer. In 514 regular season games, he scored 417 points. Playing in the postseason he scored 75 points in 95 contests, also a franchise high for Vegas.
A “serial winner” as general manager Barry Trotz says whenever he depicts what he wants out of a player on Nashville’s roster. In back-to-back offseasons, Trotz has added a previous MVP from the postseason. Ryan O’Reilly is the other after leading the St. Louis Blues to a championship in 2019.
Landing On Deal With Nashville
The night of June 30 Marchessault knew his time in Vegas was over after he had separate conversations with general manager Kelly McCrimmon & Golden Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee.
“Nashville was the best of both worlds. It’s one of the best cities in the NHL & it’s also a team that wants to win,” Marchessault said after signing on July 1.
Nashville offered five years after Vegas thought three was sufficient enough for one of the original misfits who joined the team back in 2017 when the franchise began.
Here in Nashville the shifty forward is reunited with former teammate Steven Stamkos. The two played in the Tampa Bay organization from 2013-16 as Marchessault was starting to get his footing in the league as a 24-year-old.
Marchessault said he called Stamkos to confirm if he was going to Nashville too & the duo ended up celebrating their signings in that conversation.
As the Golden Knights got closer to July 1 McCrimmon felt that he was close to a deal but Marchessault & his agent thought otherwise.
“It was intriguing that concept that they were offering. I don’t think it was close, I don’t think I was interested in something like that,” Marchessault said. “I was definitely upset the day before July 1, the fact that I was going to be there the rest of my career. I thought my deal for them was pretty fair & they didn’t want to do anything with it.”
The belief in Marchessault ran thin & now he starts a new chapter of his career in Nashville.
Expectation on the Ice
Last season Marchessault posted the second-most points he’s had in a regular season (69) & posted 15 multi-point games. He scored three hat tricks as well, the most he’s had across one season with eight overall in his NHL career.
Marchessault also crossed the 40-goal threshold for the first time in his career as he concluded his time in Vegas. His previous career-best was 30 during the 2021-22 season.
He had two streaks of going at least four games without a point last season – all before December – with his longest scoring streak being six games back on Jan. 15-26 hitting 11 points across that span.
On the ice Marchessault may not be one of the biggest players but he certainly isn’t afraid to step up when he needs to. If he gets picked on by a bigger player he’ll just go after someone else more his size.
“I don’t want anything but if you wake me up I’ll probably do something stupid at some point,” Marchessault said on the Cam & Strick Podcast Tuesday.
Just a glimpse of what he can do when he is pestered enough. According to Hockey Fights, this is Marchessault’s lone NHL fight, but he’s been part of numerous scuffles.
Last season he got tangled up with Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher behind the play.
Marchessault knows what the cost is to advance in the playoffs & he’s hopeful to inject what he’s learned in the Predators locker room.
“When you taste winning a championship it’s addictive. I want to do it again & I think everyone has the same goal here,” Marchessault said.
Head coach Andrew Brunette will decipher during training camp where he would like his new offensive threat to play. Marchessault will add what he’s already been doing consistently since helping build Vegas from the ground up.
“I feel a little bit of misfit [mentality] in the Preds, to be honest. Just in the way they played last year with their hard-nosed mentality wearing teams down.
“They reminded me last year of my first year in Vegas, it’s a good thing & I hope the other guys come in & help the team to get a championship.”
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photo courtesy of Vegas Golden Knights
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