Jonathan Marchessault
The Canadiens have not made a lot of free agent splashes recently, aside from Toffoli, but when they do spend in free agency it often happens to be on a local player. David Savard, Mathieu Perreault and Cedric Paquette are a few players they recently brought in as unrestricted free agents, and they are all from the province of Quebec.
Could Jonathan Marchessault be next? The star winger is in the final year of his contract and the Vegas Golden Knights are always tight to the salary cap and need to make difficult decisions every offseason.
With Marchessault turning 33 next month, the Golden Knights may decide to let him walk and spend their money elsewhere. That could give the Habs an opportunity to sign him to a reasonable contract to come and help them move along in their rebuild.
Marchessault is a heck of a player who just won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP by scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 22 games. He had 28 goals and 57 points last season in 76 games and already has nine goals in just 19 games this season. The late bloomer is not slowing down at all and would give the Canadiens a terrific goal scoring threat on the wing.
The Cap-Rouge, Quebec native starred for the Quebec Remparts over a decade ago and has played his pro hockey with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Vegas. Moving back to a colder climate after those stints wouldn’t be the most desirable destination for many players, but moving back close to home to play for the Montreal Canadiens would be fulfilling a life long dream for most hockey players from the province.
The Canadiens need scoring help and he would certainly bring it. Considering his hometown, he is definitely a potential target for the Habs in the offseason.