Lost to expansion and traded, ex-Panthers hit it big in Vegas
The list contained nine names. It was a map or sorts for the future of the Florida Panthers franchise. These nine names were safe from the uncertainty of the expansion draft. None of them were Jonathan Marchessault’s.
Marchessault found out about his exclusion from Florida’s protected list from his agent during the summer. It came as a surprise. He’d just scored 30 goals for the Panthers, pacing their offense in a disappointing season plagued by injuries to star forwards. And he’d done it by earning on a twoyear, $1.5 million contract.
Marchessault knew his days in Sunrise were numbered. He’d soon become part of the Vegas Golden Knights, the expansion team that began play this season.
“I thought I showed that I could be a regular for the Panthers, and they chose otherwise,” Marchessault said in a recent phone interview. “It’s part of the game. That’s what makes us special in the NHL, is we’re never safe. It got me honest and wanted to work harder.”
Marchessault’s fate was sealed on the morning of June 21, the day of the expansion draft. Vegas general manager George McPhee called him and informed him that he’d be a Golden Knight in a few hours.
“I was really happy with that,” Marchessault said. “I was really excited. New start, new franchise, new beginning for me and my family. It was great. I was happy.” He didn’t come alone. Florida also traded forward Reilly Smith and his five-year, $25 million contract to Vegas for a fourthround pick. The Golden Knights scooped up coach Gerard Gallant after the Panthers fired him last season. Marchessault, Smith and Gallant will get their first shot at their former team Sunday night when the Panthers visit Vegas.
Marchessault and Smith have become anchors for Vegas on the wings of the Golden Knights’ top line. Marchessault has 26 points (10 goals and 16 assists) in 28 games. Smith has 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 31 games. They’ve paced the Golden Knights to a historic start, carrying a 20-9-2 record into Sunday’s matchup against the Panthers.
“I think there’s a lot more talent on this team than a lot of people thought there was going to be,” Smith said. “Some people are getting an opportunity right now and absolutely running with it.”
It helps that Marchessault is a familiar face. The two played on the same line sparingly in Florida, but since joining the Golden Knights have developed “quite a great connection together,” Marchessault said.
Marchessault, a free agent at season’s end, is on pace to shatter his careerbest numbers after finally breaking through with Florida last year. He said his game has shifted slightly this season.
“I’m trying to make more plays, a little bit, since I think I’m getting less time with the puck to bring it to the net,” Marchessault said.
As Smith and Marchessault have excelled in Vegas, the Panthers have struggled to replace their scoring. Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck have been mainstays for the Panthers offense. But behind them, depth is lacking as inconsistency swirls on the second line next to Trocheck.
The Panthers enter the weekend with a 12-15-5 record, six points out of a playoff spot under first-year coach Bob Boughner.
“Was I happy to get both of them?” Gallant said. “I definitely was. Surprised? You got to look at every team, they got to protect their players and there’s a salary cap. Teams had real tough choices.”
Although Marchessault and Smith left in separate transactions, it’s tough to separate their departures.
The Panthers had two paths to choose heading into the expansion draft. They could protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie. Or they could shield eight skaters and a goalie. Florida chose the second option, one general manager Dale Tallon explained as the better one to protect the young Panthers defensemen.
Barkov, Huberdeau, Trocheck and Nick Bjugstad were safe. So were Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Mark Pysyk, Alexander Petrovic and James Reimer. But noticeably absent was Marchessault, the team’s leading scorer on a bargain contract, and a player signed to a long-term contact the previous summer.
Then-Panthers general manager Tom Rowe signed Smith to a contract extension in July 2016 that would have kept him in Sunrise through the 2021-22 season. But it was an expensive contract that ate up $5 million annually of cap space.
His contract became too heavy for Florida. His offensive production was deemed expendable.
“It was definitely a different situation,” Smith said. “Obviously, I signed a contract with the Florida Panthers the previous summer with the intention that I’d be there for the next five years. It’s definitely, probably not how either side saw it playing out. But that’s hockey, that’s the business of it.”