Sport: Jonathan Marchessault on facing old team in Florida Panthers in Stanley Cup Final

Jonathan Marchessault isn’t getting ahead of himself, as the Vegas Golden Knights still need a win in Game 4 on Thursday to close out the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference finals. But already waiting in the Stanley Cup Final are the Florida Panthers.

That’s the team that tossed Marchessault into the 2017 expansion draft, resulting in him becoming a Golden Knight. Dale Tallon, the general manager of the Florida Panthers at the time, handed Vegas two foundational pieces in the 2017 expansion draft.

Marchessault was convinced that he would be protected by Florida, but in addition to seeking cost savings on Smith’s contract, the Panthers also wanted to protect defensemen Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk from the expansion draft.

While it still surprises him, he said he has moved on. “It’s a long time ago. It’s water under the bridge,” Marchessault said. “I was disappointed at the time but that’s six years ago now, so it doesn’t bother me anymore. I know it’s my old team, but good for them. I don’t worry too much about them anymore. I worry about our team.”

If the Golden Knights advance to the Stanley Cup Final, Marchessault says they’ll meet a Panthers team that is similar to the Vegas squad that went to the championship round in the franchise’s inaugural season. “They’re kind of a similar team to what we had here in the first year. Kind of this Cinderella story,” Marchessault said. “They worked their way there and hard work pays off sometimes. In the playoffs, it’s how desperate and how bad a team wants it. And I think they’ve wanted it more. They’ve dominated most of the games they’ve played in the playoffs.”

Credit: espn.com

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