Drama has followed since Jonathan Marchessault's departure from the Golden Knights with different truths coming from the different parties involved.
Drama has followed since Jonathan Marchessault's departure from the Golden Knights with different truths coming from the different parties involved.
Drama has followed since Jonathan Marchessault's departure from the Golden Knights with different truths coming from the different parties involved.
After Marchessault appeared at the opening of the World Series of Poker and said he had not heard from the Golden Knights to begin negotiations on a new contract, things started to feel sketchy. At the end of the season press conferences, general manager Kelly McCrimmon stated that the Golden Knights wanted to bring Marchessault back.
The morning of July 1st when the free agency window opened, Marchessault signed a five-year, $5.5M contract with the Nashville Predators. Just hours later he appeared on TSN and stated:
"The tough part is there wasn't really a decent offer on the table. I don't think they tried their best to keep me, but that's part of the business and they probably have other plans. That's the business we're in so you move on."
McCrimmon later mentioned in his press conference that Marchessault's comments "couldn't be farther from the truth."
The following day the 33-year-old posted a thank you note to the Golden Knights fans and the organization on his Instagram.
"Well I never thought this day would come but here we go, what a run we’ve had! Thank you to the organization of the @vegasgoldenknights, the trainers, the coaches, the management, Mr Bill Foley and his family, thank you to the fans who made it so special every games at T-mobile, thank you Vegas for making my family and I feel at home for the last 7 years and above all, thank you to my teammates that made me laugh every day and made it fun for me to go at the rink. I made memories that I will cherish forever especially the best memory of all, winning it all !!! Thank you."
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Today, Marchessault had more comments about the entire process when he did a question and answer with Vince Sapienza. In the interview, the new Predators winger mentioned that he doesn't believe the organization believes in him but doesn't hold grudges against anyone.
"I don’t think it was close. I think it was intriguing the concept they were offering. But I wasn't interested in that. I thought I was going to be there for the rest of my career. "I talked to George (McPhee) and Kelly (McCrimmon), I told them I like the whole situation, how I see the organization. They didn’t believe in me for the remainder of my career I guess. It was a little disappointing. But at the same time, I don’t hold grudges. I’ve been part of that organization for 7 years. It’s water under the bridge. We move on. To give them credit, they always want to win. It’s a tough business. Hopefully it pays off for them in the long run. The future will tell us who is right."
The future will tell who is right but nobody could know when that is. If the Predators win the Stanley Cup next year or the Golden Knights win; the short-term factor will have been decided but if both teams don't, the state of the Golden Knights in five years and how effective Marchessault is at 38 years will be the determining factor.
Marchessault's impact will never be forgotten and will forever be written in Vegas Golden Knights history.
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