It’s hard to believe, but we are less than a month away from the opening of NHL free agency. For the Vegas Golden Knights, urgent decisions must be made on the club’s seven unrestricted free agents (as well as RFA Pavel Dorofeyev).
Even with the Stanley Cup Final yet to begin, off-season business is underway. Ryan McDonagh is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders swapped significant draft assets. The Golden Knights haven’t been active yet, but that hasn’t prevented news outlets from creating a buzz with reports that Jonathan Marchessault hasn’t spoken to the organization about a new contract.
As we get closer to July 1, and as Vegas begins making roster decisions, here’s a look at each contractless player’s situation and how likely they are to return next season:
Jonathan Marchessault
By all accounts, Marchessault wants to return, and the Golden Knights want the reigning Conn Smythe winner back. However, it isn’t always that simple. With a slew of players to sign and several roster spots to fill, re-signing the free agent, who is likely to command the biggest annual salary of the group, might not be a responsible use of cap space. Furthermore, the organization has always operated shrewdly, and the Quebec native’s status as a Vegas original may not carry as much weight as the fact that Marchessault will turn 34 next season.
To think that the Golden Knights will lock up Marchessault in recognition of his seven years with the club ignores their long-held track record of allowing ignominious departures, including Nate Schmidt, Marc-André Fleury and, most recently, Reilly Smith. It might be time for the fan favorite to move on.
Chandler Stephenson
If 57-goal scorer Sam Reinhart demonstrated the benefit of enjoying a breakout season in a contract year, Chandler Stephenson represents the opposite. The Golden Knights reaped the rewards of signing the former Washington Capital to a four-year, $11 million contract in 2020, netting a skilled, speedy center that offered solid point production for just $2.75 million per season. But what could have been Stephenson’s big opportunity to cash in might have been compromised by a down year.
After four consecutive seasons of increased point totals, Stephenson took a step back this season, with just 16 goals and 51 points in 75 games (compared to 65 points in 2022-23). During the Golden Knights’ first-round series loss to the Dallas Stars, he managed just one assist in seven games while sporting a minus-3 rating. There is some rumored interest in the 30-year-old, but it’s also possible that Vegas will cycle back to see if they can retain the two-time Stanley Cup champion at a cheaper-than-expected cost.
Alec Martinez
Amid all the uncertainty surrounding the Golden Knights’ pending free-agent class, the departure of Alec Martinez seems the most likely. No disrespect to the three-time Cup winner, but it’s tough to find any room for him on a deep Vegas blue line that already boasts seven defenders under contract for next season. Sure, injuries on the back end are practically guaranteed, but young prospects like Kaedan Korczak (an RFA) and Lukas Cormier showcased varying degrees of readiness this past season.
The only foreseeable path to a reunion with Martinez would be if the 36-year-old returns on a team-friendly discount to help mentor the group while occupying a reduced role like Mark Giordano and other aging rearguards have done. But even that scenario may not suit the Golden Knights’ situation, considering the blue line already has the veteran leadership of Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb to lean on.
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Michael Amadio
Michael Amadio has been a steady, versatile presence on the team over the past three seasons, stepping in and out of the top-six as needed while coming off the two best seasons of his career as he heads into free agency. While that may help the 28-year-old get a raise on the $762,000 he earned this season, his Vegas tenure reportedly will not be continuing.
The Golden Knights’ supposed decision to move on from Amadio is head-scratching, given how useful he has been for head coach Bruce Cassidy. It’s possible that general manager Kelly McCrimmon and the front office ultimately see the 14 goals and 27 points that he brought to the table in 2023-24 as replaceable, albeit it probably won’t come at a cheaper cap hit than what Amadio was making.
William Carrier
If Marchessault leaves the organization this summer, he may not be the only Vegas original to bid farewell. William Carrier has been a staple of the club’s fourth line and penalty kill over the past seven years, and a key part of the tough, physical, defensive-minded ethos that has driven the Golden Knights through their existence. That may, however, come to an end with the 29-year-old’s pending free agency.
Also referenced in the report on Golden Knights who are unlikely to be re-signed, Carrier has not been healthy enough. His most statistically successful season (16 goals and 25 points) was in the Cup-winning 2022-23 campaign despite playing just 56 games and was available less frequently this season, with just 39 games. Sometimes, the best ability is availability, and Carrier just hasn’t been available enough.
Anthony Mantha
Over the past few years, McCrimmon hasn’t missed on many of his trade targets, landing Jack Eichel, Adin Hill, Ivan Barbashev, and, most recently, Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl. To put it bluntly, however, Anthony Mantha was a miss. On paper, the 6-foot-5 winger looked poised to add significant size to the lineup as a deadline addition while also contributing to the offense (he had 20 goals in 56 games with the Capitals). Unfortunately, he never really fit and soon fell out of favor with Cassidy, thanks to an insufficient and inconsistent effort, getting benched in the playoffs.
On the plus side, the cost to acquire Mantha – this year’s second-round pick and a sixth-rounder in 2026 – wasn’t particularly steep. Nonetheless, Vegas has likely seen all it needs to from the 29-year-old and will probably dedicate their cap resources to more effort-oriented players. Meanwhile, Mantha would theoretically be awaiting a lucrative contract given his age, size, and scoring production from last season, but teams may well be wary of the character questions that continue to dog him.
Pavel Dorofeyev
Dorofeyev appears to be the safest bet to remain a Golden Knight next season. For starters, he’s a restricted free agent, meaning the club can match any offer he might receive from another team. More significant, though, is his importance to the organization.
At 23 years old, Dorofeyev is just scratching the surface of his potential value to Vegas. After showing promise in a small, 18-game sample size in 2022-23, he took another step forward this season with 13 goals and 24 points in 47 games. In contrast to many players on this list who are moving towards the wrong end of the age curve, Dorofeyev is at a very promising point in his career trajectory and will probably be locked up.
Jiri Patera
For a team that has had to reach down its goaltending depth chart in recent years, Jiri Patera probably isn’t the answer as the organization’s number three option. There was hope for the 25-year-old Czech heading into the 2023-24 season after he posted respectable numbers in the American Hockey League and then shone in two NHL starts. This season, however, he regressed slightly with the Henderson Silver Knights (2.99 goals-against average, .903 save percentage in 25 games) and flopped in six appearances with the Golden Knights (3.98 GAA, .893 SV%).
Patera will likely be back. It’s too early to give up on the young goalie, and it’s hard to see better internal options available. Isaiah Saville and Jesper Vikman shared the net in what was a goaltender-by-committee approach in Henderson, but Patera was still the best of the bunch. That said, expect McCrimmon to bolster the organizational depth between the pipes this summer to address both the NHL net behind Hill and Logan Thompson and the Silver Knights’ situation.
As you can see from this breakdown, change is expected. And while there could be some tough farewells on the horizon, some roster turnover may be welcome in light of a disappointing first-round playoff exit.
