The Vegas Golden Knights saw their season come to a close in the first round at the hands of the Dallas Stars. It was a disappointing finish for a team that made a huge splash leading up to the trade deadline, adding Noah Hanifin, Anthony Mantha and Tomas Hertl.
General Manager Kelly McCrimmon has plenty of work to do this summer to ensure the Golden Knights don't have the same fate next season. Vegas has quite a few free agents heading into the summer, with the most important being Jonathan Marchessault. Marchessault has been with the team since their inception, being selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 Expansion Draft, but could Vegas be moving on from the 33-year-old?
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Marchessault says that he hasn't received a call from the Golden Knights, despite them saying to him they're interested in re-signing him.
"I did not have a call yet or anything,» Marchessault said. «They said they were interested to definitely re-sign me and we'll see. Technically they have time until June 30, so we'll see how it goes."
He added, "The Golden Knights, they want to be good every year so they're probably looking at all their options and probably checking what's out there and we'll see where it brings us."
Marchessault went on to say that he went to the Golden Knights last summer, when he was eligible to sign a contract extension, asking to get it done then, but the team was not ready to do that just yet.
"I asked last summer. I was like, 'You know what? I would rather do it in the summer before the season.' And they said they're not ready to do that, and after there's not even a single talk happened during the season." Marchessault said.
It'll be interesting to see what direction the Vegas Golden Knights decide to go regarding Jonathan Marchessault. If he's not re-signed and hits the open market on July 1st, there's going to be plenty of interest, especially considering he's coming off the the best goal-scoring of his career so far, lighting the lamp 42 times during the regular season.
