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Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault makes it clear he wants to remain with the franchise.
Marchessault is a pending free agent after playing out his six-year $30 million contract this season with Vegas. The forward was part of the inaugural Golden Knights team in 2017-18 but is a pending free agent.
Although Marchessault is a pending free agent, he says the goal is to re-sign with the team this summer.
“It’s been a while for sure. I’ve done everything I can to stay here. I don’t think I am, I know I’m a big part of that organization. I’ve proved it along the years, I’m pretty confident. I would love to stay. It’s my home. I’ve been part of the guys that we started this with. It’s the most proud thing I’ve done in my life, professionally for sure. I’m happy to be a Golden Knight. I would like to be one for the rest of my life, but it’s not necessarily in my control. It’s something that my agent and Kelly will go through. I love it here, I want to stay here for sure, but we’ll see,” Marchessault said to the media on May 7.
Marchessault says he spoke to the Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon earlier on May 7 and there is mutual interest in getting a deal done, but the money needs to make sense.
“The numbers are what they are and it depends if this is important to them or not. What is important to me and what I’m looking for is I want to be in an organization that wants me. That is the one thing I want to be in. Also, I have a couple of years left. I still play the game of hockey not to just play, I don’t play it for fun. I play it because I want to win. I want to be in a place that’s going to help me win,” Marchessault said.
This past season, Marchessault recorded 42 goals and 27 assists for 69 points in 80 games.
Golden Knights Player Wants Marchessault Back
With Marchessault being an original Golden Knight, Brayden McNabb who was also an original Golden Knight hopes a deal gets done.
“Obviously, everyone knows how big part of this team he is, what he means to the team, what he means to the city, the fan base. He’s said it there, he’s done everything, he scores consistently and it is what it is. It’s business but we all hope Jon is back, we love him and we want him here,” McNabb said.
Marchessault and McNabb were both part of the Stanley Cup-winning team in Vegas in 2022.
Vegas Has Other Key Free Agents
Along with Marchessault, the Golden Knights have other key pending free agents this summer.
On forward, Anthony Mantha, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, and Michael Amadio are pending unrestricted free agents while Pavel Dorofeyev is a pending restricted free agent. On defense, original Golden Knight Alec Martinez is a pending free agent.
Vegas enters the off-season with an estimated $2.5 million in cap space, according to Spotrac.
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$30 Million Forward Calls to Be a Golden Knight For ‘Life’ Ahead of Free Agency