It’s Only Business: Vegas Golden Knights’ Misfits Down To Three After Marchessault, Carrier Leave Vegas; Big VGK Exodus Monday
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
And then there were three.
Only three original Vegas Golden Knights players remain from that June 2017 day when the VGK expansion team roster was assembled after more than a half-dozen VGKers found new homes from Carolina to Nashville to Vancouver Monday.
William Karlsson, Bryden McNabb and Shea Theodore are the only original Misfits from that 2017 Vegas roster of players that captured the hearts of Las Vegas folks after the Oct. 1 shooting on the Strip.
The Golden Knights employee responsible for crafting the tribute videos for visiting former VGK players at T-Mobile Arena will be very busy this upcoming season with the regular season home-opener happening on Oct.9 when the Colorado Avalanche visit Las Vegas.
The biggest Misfit name to leave Las Vegas was winger and 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs MVP Jonathan Marchessault, who scored 42 goals this past season.
Nashville signed Marchessault for five years at $5.5 million AAV.
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Another original Misfit to hit the road was William Carrier, the rugged fourth-liner who suffered from injuries this past season.
Carried signed with the Carolina Hurricanes for six years at $2 million AAV.
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Chandler Stephenson, a former VGK All-Star and mountain biker, signed with the Seattle Kraken for seven years at $6.25 million AAV. The salary that Stephenson drew was the biggest surprise. There was no way that Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon was going to pay that type of salary.
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Three-time Stanley Cup champion and defenseman Alec Martinez, who turns 37 on July 26, signed with the Chicago Blackhawks for one year at $4 million. It’s hard to imagine McCrimmon signing Martinez for $4 million.
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Scrappy, versatile Michael Amadio, who scored a memorable overtime winning goal against Winnipeg during the VGK march to the Cup in 2003, signed with Ottawa for three years worth a total of $7.8 million.
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Goalie Logan Thompson was traded to the Washington Capitals for third round draft picks in 2024 and 2025.
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Paul “Welcome Back” Cotter was traded to the New Jersey Devils.
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Goalie Jiri Patera was signed by the Vancouver Canucks for two years.
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Anthony Mantha, acquired by Vegas from Washington last season, signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Calgary Flames. Mantha is another player that I did not expect McCrimmon to keep.
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Who is on the VGK roster?
Well, Vegas announced these signings:
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There’s no time for prolonged goodbyes. Time for development camp this week at the VGK training center/HQ in Summerlin.
Photo credits for most of these photos go to J. Tyge O’Donnell of LVSportsBiz.com. Some credits go to Hygh Byrne.
