Marchessault of Golden Knights wins Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP

LAS VEGAS -- As one of the original "Golden Misfits," it seemed fitting that Jonathan Marchessault was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday.

Marchessault was voted the winner after he helped the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their history with a 9-3 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena. The forward received 13 first-place votes among the 18 ballots from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Jack Eichel received the other five-place votes.

Marchessault, who is one of six remaining players from the Golden Knights' inaugural season in 2017-18, was tied for the NHL lead in goals (13) and was second in points (25) in 22 playoff games. He also had eight points (four goals, four assists) in the Stanley Cup Final and ended the playoffs on a 10-game point streak (eight goals, seven assists).

His run came after he got off to a slow start this postseason, though. He had just two assists in five games against the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference First Round.

"I wasn't happy with my first round, but at the end of day, we found a way to win hockey games, and a bunch of guys stepped up at the right time, and I wanted to contribute and help my team win hockey games, and we were still doing it without me producing," Marchessault said. "That was one of the things that happen in this year's playoffs in every round, there was always somebody stepping up, and it was great. Honestly, you don't get here with one or two guys, you get here with a full effort of the organization, and it's something you can really be proud of."

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Marchessault found his scoring touch in the second round, finishing with eight points (five goals, three assists) in the final four games of the series, including getting a hat trick in a 5-2 win in Game 6 to eliminate the Edmonton Oilers. He then had seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games against the Dallas Stars in the conference final.

"Inside presence. I think it was Game 3 up there (in Edmonton), he scored two goals. Jack [Eichel] got him at the top of the crease on a tip and there was another one very similar," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "Against Winnipeg, he wasn't getting to those areas, he was relying on his shot, and he slowly got there, and he got rewarded. Then all of a sudden it snowballed, and in the clinching game (against Edmonton) he got a hat trick. One was at the top of the crease, one was from the elbow (slot), but he started working inside a lot more.

"Between him and [Ivan] Barbashev going to the net, with a guy like Jack who can draw people to him, it turned out to be an effective line because of that. So good for him, he figured it out. It didn't affect the rest of his game, and he gets on a roll."

Marchessault is the Golden Knights' all-time leader in a number of offensive categories, including goals (150), assists (198), points (348), power-play goals (34), power-play points (86) and game-winning goals (27). He is also their leader in playoff goals (34) and points (71), and is one of three players (William Karlsson, Reilly Smith) to have played in all 88 playoff games in Vegas' history.

But as he said Tuesday, it was "a bumpy ride" to get to this point. As an undrafted free agent, Marchessault played with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning before signing with the Panthers on July 1, 2016. He then had 51 points (30 goals, 21 assists) in 75 games, but he was still left unprotected ahead of the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft and was ultimately claimed by Vegas, becoming an original misfit.

Marchessault and the Golden Knights advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2017-18, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games. Now, five years later, Marchessault is happy he was able to help Vegas finish the job.

"Definitely a lot of hard work was put in, especially in the past few years, to achieve my goal," Marchessault said. "My wife was unbelievable, and to be honest, you don't hear enough about how big they are in the career of a professional athlete, and I'm so happy to be able to do it. It was a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, and it's just a great feeling right now to see my journey where it brought me, and it's something that I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

Marchessault also cherished it with the other five remaining "Golden Misfits": Karlsson, Smith, Shea Theodore, William Carrier and Brayden McNabb.

"It's been an unbelievable ride for sure," Marchessault said. "Even the first year, we had so much fun with the fans at T-Mobile, the energy, we got voted the best arena to play in for a reason. It's been a great ride. The fans and the community have been unbelievable since we came in. I remember Game 4 (against Florida) we wanted to bring it back home with a chance to win it all, and we did. Honestly, our team delivered tonight. We were dominating the whole game and I was just so proud to do it in front of our fans, and that's a moment I'll never forget."