Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after , a fitting honor for one of the franchise's original players who has been a key contributor since the first puck dropped in Las Vegas.
Marchessault led the Golden Knights with 13 goals and ranked second with 25 points during their playoff run, this one ending on a winning note unlike five years ago when they lost in the final. He is left from the start of the expansion franchise in 2017 and has since developed a reputation for scoring big goals at timely moments.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e always said about Jonathan Marchessault: He seizes big moments,鈥� general manager Kelly McCrimmon said before Game 5. 鈥淗e has always had a knack for that.鈥�
Marchessault scored important goals during just about every Vegas playoff run, from the second-round series clincher in 2018 through this final against the Florida Panthers. Not bad for a player who was undrafted, traded two games into his NHL career and later left unprotected by Florida in the expansion draft.
He's the first undrafted player to win the Conn Smythe since Wayne Gretzky.
鈥淗e went on a heck of a run,鈥� Vegas leading scorer Jack Eichel said. "So deserving of the Conn Smythe. I鈥檓 so happy for him. He鈥檚 been here since the beginning.鈥�
Reflecting upon his journey as an undersized player who has been perpetually overlooked, the 5-foot-9, 183-pound Quebec native said he would not be satisfied until he won a championship.
鈥淲hen you win it all, that鈥檚 one of those things that your name will always be a winner,鈥� Marchessault said. 鈥淎nd it doesn鈥檛 matter if you win one or six or seven. If you win one time, you win it.鈥�
Marchessault can now call himself a winner, more than a decade after he went unselected in the NHL draft and six years since the Panthers let Vegas take him for nothing fresh off a 30-goal season. They actually traded a draft pick and Reilly Smith 鈥� also still with the Golden Knights 鈥� to Vegas to select Marchessault.
鈥淚t was an extremely bumpy ride to get to the NHL,鈥� Marchessault said. 鈥淏ut after wanting to get there, it鈥檚 another thing to stay there. Every year there鈥檚 guys that want your spot, right? It just keeps you humble, I think. I think like a lot of situations kept me humble in my career.鈥�
Humble but not necessarily quiet. Marchessault has not only scored big goals but become known as one of the best on-ice agitators and trash-talkers in the sport. At one point in the final, Marchessault chirped similarly sized Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg, 鈥淵ou're not worth it, little man!鈥� before skating away.
When Bruce Cassidy took the job coaching Vegas, he knew Marchessault could score goals and make plays but said, 鈥淵ou don't see the little spitfire in him.鈥� Cassidy chalks that up to Marchessault's history that put a chip on his shoulder.
鈥淎 very, very competitive guy,鈥� Cassidy said. 鈥淓very drill he鈥檚 got to win in practice and if he does, you hear about it. There are always guys like that that bring up the energy level. He鈥檚 great for our room.鈥�
And Marchessault personifies the Golden Knights, the second-youngest team in the league that has gotten to the top from humble beginnings, looking to prove they belong with hockey's elite. They do now, thanks in large part to Marchessault.
鈥淭he guy鈥檚 had something to prove every day,鈥� McCrimmon said. 鈥淓very day he鈥檚 been in the NHL, he鈥檚 had something to prove. And that鈥檚 that鈥檚 what makes makes the guy tick.鈥�
Ten of Marchessault's 13 goals either tied the game or put Vegas ahead. Asked about that after winning the Cup, Marchessault did not make it about him.
鈥淥ne night it鈥檚 one guy, one night it鈥檚 another guy," he said. "That鈥檚 the mentality we had this year, just next man has to do the good job. We鈥檙e a bunch of good teammates in that locker room, and we鈥檙e always happy for each other. Everybody stepped up at different times, and that鈥檚 why today we are winners.鈥�
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AP NHL playoffs: and
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
