Jonathan Marchessault Says Golden Knights Haven't Talked To Him About Contract Extension, Despite Career Year

The Vegas Golden Knights' attempt at winning a second straight Stanley Cup came up well short, and now the team has some decisions to make, and one of them is what to do with reigning Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault.

Now, considering Marchessault is coming off a career year and is one of the original Golden Knights who was on the team in the franchise's inaugural season, you'd think they may want to cut a deal with him, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

We're just about a month away from the start of free agency and the team hasn't even started contracts talk with him according to Marchessault himself.

"We don't have a call yet or anything," Marchessault said, per TSN (by the way, he said this as he was gearing up to compete in a World Series of Poker tournament, which is awesome). "They said they were interested to sign me. They have time until June 30 or so."

Free Agency starts July 1, so yeah that time frame checks out.

However, it's not like this deadline is sneaking up on Vegas. Marchessault said he had asked to get talks going last summer but the team declined.

Still, GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated that the team was interested in getting a deal done. 

"There's certainly a real strong willingness from both sides to have real good discussions," he said once the Golden Knights season was over. "That’s what we’re going to work on."

Of course, these negotiations won't be easy. Vegas is famously masterful at working with the cap, but Marchessault's $5 million AAV on his current deal is going to go up considerably on the heels of a Conn Smythe and a career year. Maybe that's not something the Golden Knights can do now, or it doesn't work into their long-term plans.

Moving on from each other might be good for both the Golden Knights and Jonathan Marchessault.  (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Moving On Might Be Good For Both Marchessault And the Golden Knights

Parting ways might be in both parties' best interest. The team can spend elsewhere, meanwhile, Marchessault can get paid what he's worth. 

The salary cap is going up and a lot of teams have some money to play with as it currently stands, and not just rebuilding teams like Utah, Chicago and San Jose. The Nashville Predators are projected to have around $26 million to play with according to CapFriendly, and even the Florida Panthers — who are currently in the Eastern Conference Final and are the team that Marchessault played for before being selected by Vegas in the 2017 expansion draft — are projected to have about $19 million to mess with.

Vegas on the other hand? There projected to have $800,000.

So, if Marchessault tests free agency, he shouldn't have any trouble finding a team willing to pay what he's worth after some fantastic seasons in Vegas.