Marchessault Speaks Out On Leaving Vegas: Offer Was "Far Off"

It was "the other" shocking departure of July 1st — the only player leaving his team in free agency that was more stunning was Steven Stamkos. Jonathan Marchessault was not able to work things out with the Vegas Golden Knights and signed on with the Nashville Predators.

The 2023 Conn Smythe & Stanley Cup winner is talking about it, explaining just what happened with the contract offers:

New #Preds forward Jonathan Marchessault says the main difference with Vegas’ & NSH offer was the years. Pay was about the same.

“Pretty far off for me”
- @1025TheGame
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) July 3, 2024

Marchessault says it was all about term. He signed a five-year, $27 million contract with Nashville, for a $5.5 million AAV. The 'Original Misfit' says that the Golden Knights came pretty close on annual salary, but the number of years on the extension was "pretty far off for me."

"I thought I was going to be there for the rest of my career... They didn’t believe in me for the remainder of my career I guess," said the 33-year-old.

"It was a little disappointing. But at the same time, I don’t hold grudges. I’ve been part of that organization for seven years. It’s water under the bridge. We move on."

Even before the ink was dry on his Nashville contract, he expressed his disappointment in the Golden Knights' effort to re-sign him.

Marchessault did not have the happiest ending in Vegas 😬 pic.twitter.com/AW1qa6MByG
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 1, 2024

"I don't think they tried their best to keep me."

In his seven years in Sin City, he scored 192 goals, with 225 assists for 417 points in 514 games. He'll always be remembered in Sin City for his 2023 playoff performance, when he recorded 13 goals and 25 points in 22 games along with a plus-minus rating of +17 to win the Conn Smythe as the playoff's most valuable player.