Why Vegas Needs to Extend Jonathan Marchessault

2. Extending Jonathan Marchessault Can Be Done

While Marchessault is currently being paid $5 million for the season, there's a possibility he'll get more. Now, I know what you're thinking.

"With big contracts on the board (i.e. Eichel and Mark Stone), how can Vegas afford another? You're tying up more resources to a single player by giving him an extension. That's unpossible!"

Here's the thing: Chandler Stephenson is also a free agent after this season. The center's current cap hit is $2.75 million, which will relieve some cap space for the Knights. Alec Martinez is going to hit the free agent market after this season, with $5.25 million being lifted from the books.

Let's use some younger players as examples of good replacements. Young stars like Brendan Brisson and Kaeden Korczak are waiting in the wings. They're also cheaper options (Brisson's a $925,000 cap hit, while Korczak's a restricted free agent at the end of the season with a current AAV of $905,000). Vegas has plenty of options for replacements, where they can just plug in to replace Stephenson and Martinez.

All this is not even mentioning the NHL salary cap is projected to go up to $87.7 million next offseason. The Golden Knights have $4.2 million more to work with, which makes extending Marchessault easier.