Jonathan Marchessault was one of the three huge free agent additions for the Nashville Predators this off-season. While he is a very good player and a great add to the top-6 and power play, more hype was surrounding the team’s acquisition of Steven Stamkos instead.
Marchessault’s impressive resume included a recent Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy to go along with that, but Steven Stamkos, the former Tampa Bay Lightning captain, a two-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner, and elite 500+ goal, 1000+ point-scorer got most of the attention.
While Stamkos isn’t used to changing teams, Marchessault is no stranger to performing right away on a new team. Nashville is his fifth team in the NHL, following the Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Marchessault’s first and only season with the Panthers saw him break out and record 30 goals and 51 points in 75 games. The following season he took his game to the next level and scored 27 goals and 75 points in 77 games with the Golden Knights. Seven years later at age 34, he started his tenure with the Predators off right.
Not only did Marchessault perform in the pre-season, giving the Predators confidence that he didn’t lose a step coming over from Vegas to Nashville in the off-season, the veteran assisted on two goals in the season opener.
Related: Predators’ Late Comeback Effort Falls Short in Opening Night Loss to Dallas
In the first game of the season at home against the Dallas Stars, Marchessault assisted on Filip Forsberg’s power-play goal, showing that there’s an instant payoff by having him on the Predators, but he also assisted on Ryan O’Reilly’s 6-on-5 goal to cut the deficit to one.
Marchessault led all skaters in the game with six shots, something the Predators are hoping they can continue to count on throughout the season. He had a career-high of 42 goals last season, and even though he didn’t score in the first game, many goals will come off his stick to provide much-needed scoring behind the top line.
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