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Vegas Golden Knights Inaugural Season Final Grades: Jonathan Marchessault

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck during Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates with the puck during Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Jonathan Marchessault has become a bonafide star with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Fans, media and everyone else in between set expectations low for the Vegas Golden Knights. In 2017-18. However, the team and coaching staff had different ideas and turned the tables on the entire NHL. The Golden Knights went out and proved everyone wrong in their very first campaign.

Just about every single player on the Golden Knights roster went above and beyond expectations. Every player bought into Gerard Gallant’s fast transition style of play, and it worked to near perfection. On VegasHockeyKnight.com, we will go over each player with an in-depth analysis and give them a grade based upon their performance during the Golden Knights inaugural season.

The next player we’ll take a look at is Golden Knights right winger, Jonathan Marchessault. We all knew Marchessault would put up points, but he outdid himself with Vegas. Let’s take a look at the year the Cap-Rouge, Quebec native had in the Golden Knights inaugural season.

Let’s go way back when the Golden Knights took both Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith from Florida for a fourth-round pick. Yup, you read that right. The Golden Knights acquired two-thirds of their first line from the Panthers in exchange for a measly fourth-round selection.

Marchessault was pegged to be one of the Golden Knights top offensive producers to start the year. He scored 30 goals with the Panthers in the 2016-17 season, but Florida shockingly lets him go for nothing. Marchessault didn’t reach the 30-goal plateau with the Golden Knights after all, although he was still the teams top offensive producer as expected.

The 27-year old played in 77 games during 2017-18, and he notched 27 goals, 48 assists, and 75 points. He became a much better playmaker and hockey player in the past 300 days or so and a lot of that has to do with Gallant.

Gallant’s quick transition, hard forecheck scheme is fascinating to watch, and the first line does it better than all of the rest. Marchessault, Smith and William Karlsson are all aggressive on the puck, that’s what makes that line one of the best in hockey. The only other trio that’s as dominant the one in Boston, consisting of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.

I wouldn’t say that Marchessault is one of the best leaders on the team. But he is the guy that keeps everyone loose in the locker room, no matter the situation. That’s what makes Marchessault such a character in the dressing room.

However, it was all business in the playoffs, and Marchessault stepped up in a massive way for the NHL’s newest franchise. In 20 Stanley Cup playoff games, Marchessault scored eight goals, 13 assists, and 21 points. Marchessault was without a doubt the best Golden Knights forward in the playoffs overall.

At the beginning of the season, I thought if there were one player that was going to breakout, it would be Marchessault. I predicted him to be a top offensive weapon and put up the most points. But he did in it a fashion that no one really expected.

Grade: A

Next: Vegas Golden Knights Inaugural Season Final Grades: William Karlsson

All in all, Jonathan Marchessault deserves an “A” for his production, game-breaking ability, character, and his heart. The Vegas Golden Knights have themselves a keeper in Marchessault. Now its just the matter of the player living up to his big contract.

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