Jonathan Marchessault is without a contract and said he has not had a phone call or anything from the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 33-year-old appeared at the opening of the World Series of Poker on Tuesday and said he has not heard from the Golden Knights to begin negotiations on a new contract.
During the Golden Knights season-ending press conferences, General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said "there’s certainly a strong willingness from both sides to have real good discussions. That’s what we’re going to work on."
Taking into account what McCrimmon said and Marchessault's openness to discuss a deal, Marchessault isn't the only person to be surprised about the lack of communication.
"I did not have a call yet or anything,” Marchessault said. “They said they were interested to definitely re-sign me and we’ll see. Technically they have time until June 30, so we’ll see how it goes."
In addition to the Canadian wingers' ability on the ice, he's become a fan-favourite. He's one of the original misfits and holds the franchise record in goals, assists, points and games played.
His play in the last two seasons is more than evident that he deserves an extension. He set a new career-high in goals last year with 42 and was the winner of the Conn Smythe the season before.
"I asked last summer. I was like, ‘You know what? I would rather do it in the summer before the season.’ And they said they’re not ready to do that, and after there’s not even a single talk that happened during the season,” Marchessault said. “I don’t know. Technically as an organization you sign the player for six years, so you have the full six years and after you can deal with it. So we’ll see."
On Mar. 22, Marchessault's agent Pat Brisson said that there "have been plenty of contract talks with the Vegas Golden Knights but it's unlikely that one gets signed before the end of the season."
Marchessault has continuously stated his feelings about this process and the ball still remains in the Golden Knights court.
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