Marchessault: Nashville Predators Are 'a Team That Wants to Win'

Once an Original Misfit in Las Vegas, Jonathan Marchessault is on the move once again.

News broke Sunday evening that Marchessault and the cash-strapped Vegas Golden Knights were not expected to come to terms on a new deal when free agency began. Less than 24 hours later, the Nashville Predators had inked the veteran forward to a five-year deal with a $5 million AAV.

“I kind of knew on June 30 that Vegas was not going to do much for me," Marchessault said via Zoom on Wednesday. "So after that, it was time… Nashville was definitely the best of both worlds. It’s one of the best cities in the NHL, and also a team that wants to win, and those were the two things that I wanted.”

Marchessault brings some offensive firepower to a Predators team in need of depth scoring. The three-time 30-goal scorer and Vegas’ all-time franchise leader in goals (192), assists (225) and points (417) led the Golden Knights and was tied for 11th in the NHL in goals with a career-high 42 last season. He also led Vegas in points with 69 (42 goals, 27 assists), the second-most in a single season in his career.

“I'm a hard-working kind of guy, and I want to help my team win some hockey games," Marchessault said. "That's something that I take a lot of pride doing. With the lineup that [Nashville] had last year, I thought they did amazing. Just the fact that they went to the playoffs and did some damage against a pretty good team, the future is promising, and I just want to go help the Preds achieve their goal."

That goal is, of course, a Stanley Cup – something Marchessault knows a thing or two about winning. After leading all playoff skaters in goals (13) and finishing second in points (25) during the Golden Knights’ run to the 2023 Stanley Cup championship, he became the first undrafted player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy since Wayne Gretzky in 1988.

Someone else who knows a thing or two about winning the Stanley Cups is Steven Stamkos, the former Tampa Bay Lightning captain who also signed with the Predators in free agency on Monday. Marchessault played with Stamkos for two seasons in Tampa from 2014-16, and learning that his former teammate was also headed to Nashville made his decision even easier.

Related: Steven Stamkos 'Excited' to Join Predators After 'Difficult' Departure from Tampa Bay

“I’ve been able to play with a lot of good players in my career, and Steven is definitely going to be up there,” Marchessault said. "He achieved a lot of things with the Lightning, he’s done a lot and it's quite impressive, the player that he is today. And hopefully we can come in and help the team. It’s definitely a game-changer, and I think Nashville should be really excited to have him there on their side.”

In Nashville, Marchessault and Stamkos will join fellow Stanley Cup champions Ryan O'Reilly (2019, St. Louis) and Luke Schenn (2020 & 2021, Tampa Bay). As he continues to build a culture of "serial winners" in Nashville, general manager Barry Trotz expects these four to lead the way.

“Steven and Ryan and Luke, they can probably tell you about it, but when you win, when you taste winning a championship, it's addictive,” Marchessault said. “I definitely want to do it again, and I think everybody has the same goal here.”