LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — And so begins the summer of change for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Free agency began at 9 a.m. Monday, and the Knights have said goodbye to two original misfits and several other longtime players.
The biggest loss for the Knights is forward Jonathan Marchessault, who signed a five-year deal with the Nashville Predators with an average annual value of $5.5 million.
Marchessault is coming off a career-high 42-goal season and won the NHL's Conn Smythe trophy in 2023 when VGK won the Stanley Cup. He is also the franchise leader in goals and games played.
WATCH: At City National Arena, fans react to the loss of one of the Golden Knights' key players:
In a social media post, the Golden Knights called Marchessault "the Epitome of the Warrior Class."
"Thank you, Marchy, for everything you have done for our team and our city, on and off the ice," VGK wrote.
Marchessault isn’t the only player who won’t don a gold jersey next season.
A tidal wave of free agency losses swept through the Golden Knights' roster Monday morning, including longtime franchise players like William Carrier, another original misfit. He signed a six-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes with an average annual value of $2 million.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Alec Martinez, who was expected to retire, signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks for $4 million.
Center Michael Amadio is also leaving for a three-year, $2.6 million AAV contract with the Ottawa Senators.
And two-time Stanley Cup champion Chandler Stephenson is headed to a seven-year, $6.25 million AAV contract with the Seattle Kraken.
Forward Anthony Mantha has signed a one-year contract with the Calgary Flames, which is worth $3.5 million. He split last season with the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights, where he recorded 44 points (23 goals and 21 assists) in 74 games played.
Goaltender Jiri Patera is also leaving the VGK after he agreed to a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
Patera was originally selected by Golden Knights in the sixth round, 161st overall, in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 25-year-old appeared in six games last season, posting a record of 1-3-1 with a 3.98 goals against average and an .893 save percentage.
Monday's news comes on the heels of the recent trade of two more Golden Knights that came as a surprise to fans.
To close out the 2024 NHL Draft at Sphere, VGK announced trades of goaltender Logan Thompson and forward Paul Cotter.
Thompson went to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick which VGK used to draft Russian goaltender Pavel Moysevich.
Cotter was sent to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick, plus forward Alexander Holtz and goalie Akira Schmid.
We know who they lost...so, who did the Knights gain in free agency?
The Vegas Golden Knights announced their first official free agency acquisition just after 5 p.m. on Monday.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov was signed to a one-year, $1.8 million contract, general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced in a press conference on Monday evening.
Samsonov will come on as a backup for starting goaltender Adin Hill, McCrimmon said.
"Sean [Burke, director of goaltending] feels he's a real good goaltender that had a down year and is a perfect guy to bet on and bring him in," McCrimmon said, calling it a "similar mindset or thought process to when we acquired Adin Hill. Former first-round pick, good pedigree, size, athleticism..."
Two players also signed contract extensions to return as Golden Knights for the 2024-25 season.
Left-winger Pavel Dorofyev and defenseman Kaeden Korczak both signed two-year contract extensions, the team announced.
"We expect, in the case of Pavel, to really continue to blossom and the opportunity that he's going to now have on our team and Kaedan Korczak will be a full-time NHL player this year," McCrimmon said of those extensions. "Based on what we saw from his time with our team last year, he's more than ready to step into an NHL lineup."
On Tuesday, the Golden Knights announced they had signed forward Victor Olofsson to a one-year contract worth just over $1 million. The 28-year-old has spent six seasons in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres. With Buffalo, he recorded 182 points (90 goals and 92 assists) in 314 games, including a career-high 28 goals in 2022-23.
