Why Vegas Needs to Extend Jonathan Marchessault

When your team is in a pinch with injuries, who do you call? Do you make a trade that costs you a draft pick or two? Do you sacrifice a chicken to make the bad mojo go away? For the Vegas Golden Knights, they were running out of options. That is, until Jonathan Marchessault woke up.

An incredible month of January has catapulted the Original Misfit to this point. He's boosted everything for Vegas, from the power play to the top line. Marchessault's play has kept the Golden Knights afloat during their rough health stretch. On top of that, the Knights are getting reinforcements back in time for the playoffs!

But there's one problem: Jonathan Marchessault will become a free agent after this season. Vegas will lose the 33-year-old's services unless they agree to an extension. But the Golden Knights shouldn't let the right wing walk. Here's why you can't just let the Original Misfit free fallin'.

1. He's Elevating His Game

The Original Misfit has 28 goals on the season, good for being tied for 14th in the NHL. In January, he had eight goals and five assists alone. This was when the injuries flew around, with William Karlsson and Jack Eichel being out of commission.

As for December? The Quebec native had the same stat line: eight goals and five assists. Jonathan Marchessault has been a boon for the Vegas Golden Knights. He's already closing in on his career-high in goals (30, both in 2016-2017 and 2021-2022) and is projected to score 42. For the Golden Knights, you can't pass up an opportunity to get back your superstar. That's especially true if he's a fan favorite.

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.