Jonathan Marchessault makes a massive statement on Martin St-Louis

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Elias Edmonson
April 2, 2024 (10:59)

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Jonathan Marchessault has just sent a very interesting message to the Montreal Canadiens and to Martin St-Louis.

Last Saturday, Marchessault scored in an empty net to achieve his 40th goal of the season. It was the first time the forward had reached this impressive milestone in his career.

This achievement is particularly impressive considering that the Quebecer was never drafted by an NHL team. He has become the fourth undrafted player to accomplish this feat, following Artemi Panarin, Jason Blake, and none other than Martin St-Louis.

After the game, Marchessault also had a thought for the current head coach of the Canadiens. He seems to have been greatly inspired by him throughout his career.

Jonathan Marchessault with the Canadiens? Let the speculation begin!

The Quebecois forward made a statement that speaks volumes.

"I keep proving everyone wrong: analysts, scouts, and the teams that never drafted me. People said I was lucky last year, during the playoffs. I'm a guy with character. I'll never stop, much like Martin St-Louis. He has always been an example for me. If I can have half of his career, I'll be really happy. He's a guy who inspires me. I don't want to think too far ahead, I just want to help my team win." - Jonathan Marchessault

Seeing how similar the paths of Marchessault and St-Louis are, it would be nice to see the two men united. And this could happen as early as next season.

Indeed, the now 33-year-old player will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. He will thus have the freedom to choose the team he will play for in the coming years. The man himself recently mentioned wanting to stay in Vegas, but is realistic and very aware of the situation in Sin City.

Here is what he replied to Jean-François Chaumont from the website NHL when asked if he wanted to stay in town:

"Um That's a good question," he told NHL.com. "Realistically, when you look at all the guys on our team, I don't think so. But you never know. They might be able to make room or something like that." - Jonathan Marchessault

According to the website Capfriendly, Vegas already has five forwards under contract with salaries over five million including Jack Eichel ($10 million), Mark Stone ($9.5 million), Tomas Hertl ($6.75 million), William Karlsson ($5.9 million), and Ivan Barbashev ($5 million), not to mention defensemen Alex Pietrangelo ($8.8 million) and Shea Theodore ($5.2 million).

We must also not forget that they will surely want to keep the services of their most recent acquisition, Noah Hanifin, and that they have many other impending free agents, including Anthony Mantha, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, and Alec Martinez, just to name a few. Sooner or later, money will start to run out in Vegas.

That's why rumors suggest that the player to be sacrificed by GM Kelly McCrimmon will be Marchessault.

Could he be useful to the Canadiens? It will be up to Kent Hughes and his team to judge!

Via Jamais-vu: Jonathan Marchessault fait signe à Martin St-Louis