Pacific Notes: Marchessault, Smith, Oilers

Heading into the offseason, the Vegas Golden Knights have just shy of $900K in cap space with notable players such as Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson headed for unrestricted free agency in just over four weeks. Unfortunately for Vegas, even if the organization were to free up cap space on the trade market, they would likely be unable to open up enough flexibility to keep both players.

Between the two, Stephenson is not expected to sign for as rich of a contract as Marchessault on the open market, which could entice the Golden Knights to pursue his services instead. Keeping that in mind, Mark Anderson of the Associated Press reported today that Marchessault has still not been approached by Vegas’ front office about a contract extension.

It may be a tough pill for both player and team as Marchessault recently completed the highest goal-scoring season of his career. As one of the original ’misfits’ still on the Golden Knights, Marchessault has been adamant about finishing his career in Nevada. However, due to the financial constraints the team imposed upon itself at this past year’s trade deadline, Marchessault is expected to be wearing another team’s jersey by the start of next season.

Other Pacific notes:

• Already showing tremendous humility as a young NHL prospect, Will Smith of the San Jose Sharks organization is not expecting to be gifted a spot in the NHL out of the gates. Although his entry-level contract should be made official today, Smith told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now that he is more than willing to join the organization’s AHL affiliate if the Sharks think it is best for his development. Nevertheless, the former fourth overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft should immediately jump into San Jose’s top six if he can make the roster after scoring 25 goals and 71 points in 41 games for Boston College last year.
• The Edmonton Oilers have extended their ECHL affiliate with the Fort Wayne Komets according to an announcement from the organization. The partnership between the two teams began just before the 2022-23 season, and Assistant General Manager Keith Gretzky was quoted as saying, “Our players have also relished their time in the city of Fort Wayne. They have received first-class treatment during their time there and we truly believe that the Komets and their fans make them the premier organization in the ECHL“. In the two years as Edmonton’s ECHL affiliate, the Komets have won 69 games in total, qualifying for the Kelly Cup playoffs during the 2022-23 ECHL season.