Jonathan Marchessault surprised by Panthers tossing him in 2017 NHL Expansion Draft

Jonathan Marchessault surprised by Panthers tossing him in 2017 NHL Expansion Draft

With the Stanley Cup Final drawing closer and closer, Vegas Golden Knights forward, Jonathan Marchessault could encounter a revenge series. The Golden Knights are one win away from heading to their second-ever Stanley Cup Final, and this time, it’s against the team that let the star forward Jonathan Marchessault go. Now, the 32-year-old is coming out as surprised about why the Florida Panthers let him go into the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Via ESPN.

“You know what? I thought they were going to protect me,” Marchessault said Thursday. “I was surprised of the decision. But I mean, that’s just the way she goes sometimes. Keeps you honest.”

(All quotes are from ESPN.)

The Florida Panthers punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals with a last-second goal by Matthew Tkachuk in Game 4. The foe awaiting them looks to be Marchessault and the Golden Knights, but not for certain. When the league introduced Vegas, Florida permitted him to enter the expansion draft after coming off a career-high 51 points (up to that point) in 75 games, his first real full season with NHL experience.

In this case, Marchessault was the guinea pig for the Golden Knights. Exposing the right winger would lead to Vegas trading for winger Reilly Smith, who now has 286 points in 399 games for Vegas. These two cost-effective moves moved Florida to protect two players from the expansion draft.

Former Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon said this when asked about the expansion draft protections.

“You win championships with defense first.”

Tallon would eventually leave the franchise in 2020, being replaced by current GM Bill Zito.

Now, there could be a chance this becomes full circle for both Smith and Marchessault in the next few days with the potential matchup of their current and former team.

Marchessault commented on the success of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run, relating it to Vegas’ inaugural Stanley Cup Final run as well.

“They’re kind of a similar team to what we had here in the first year. Kind of this Cinderella story,” Marchessault said. “They worked their way there and hard work pays off sometimes. In the playoffs, it’s how desperate and how bad a team wants it. And I think they’ve wanted it more. They’ve dominated most of the games they’ve played in the playoffs.”

(All quotes are from ESPN.)

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