Golden Knights Defend Decision to Let Marchessault Leave

Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon has addressed comments made by former forward Jonathan Marchessault regarding his departure from the team this summer. Marchessault, who signed a five-year deal with the Nashville Predators in free agency, recently opened up in an interview with Andy Strickland, expressing his disappointment with how his time in Vegas ended. He didn’t seem happy. Not surprisingly, McCrimmon wasn’t exactly happy with the picture Marchessault tried to paint.

Marchessault noted a lack of communication during the negotiation process and the team’s reluctance to offer him the term he desired. McCrimmon defended the organization’s position and said that while they feel an emotional attachment to players like Marchessault, they couldn’t justify meeting the player’s ask and they’d treated him more than fairly while he was with the team.

According to Marchessault, the Golden Knights were only willing to offer a three-year contract, while he was seeking five but would have settled on four. Frustrated by the lack of progress, he took it upon himself to contact McCrimmon directly to clarify his future with the team. Despite what he felt was a strong relationship with the GM, Marchessault recalled asking McCrimmon, “Are you guys actually letting me go, for real?”

The team remained firm, and Marchessault realized his time in Vegas was over.

McCrimmon Doesn’t Exactly See It The Same Way Marchessault Does

McCrimmon, speaking to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, provided a different perspective. He clarified that Vegas had indeed offered Marchessault a four-year deal before the 2023 NHL Draft, but Nashville’s eventual five-year offer was beyond what the Golden Knights were willing to commit to.

McCrimmon said:

“We emotionally are attached to the players that have helped us have success, yet there’s just no supporting data that justify, or in our minds, demonstrate a reason to have wingers that age like that at the end of their career.”

The decision wasn’t personal but rather a business move that made sense from several perspectives.

McCrimmon expressed his appreciation for Marchessault’s contributions to the franchise, acknowledging his critical role in Vegas’ success, including his performance in the 2023 playoffs, which earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy. He also noted that the organization put Marchessault in a position to go out and get that big contract from Nashville. “…he really wanted to make as much money as he could on his next contract for his family, which is what he did. We did nothing wrong,” added McCrimmon. He noted that even taking him in the expansion draft was beneficial for the forward and then putting him on a line with players who helped him produce was another reason Marchessault was able to cash in this offseason.

He wished Marchessault well in Nashville but stood by the decision, saying the team was prepared to move forward.

Ultimately, both sides seem to have different opinions on how this split all came to be and who was being fair and who wasn’t. While Marchessault was disappointed, McCrimmon maintained that the franchise made the right decision.

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