Marchessault signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Predators ($5.5 million AAV) after he and the Vegas Golden Knights were unable to reach an agreement on a contract. An original member of the Golden Knights, the 33-year-old said he was disappointed he could not re-sign with Vegas, but told TSN, “I turned the page an hour ago. We move on. A new chapter, a new challenge for me and my family.”
Marchessault, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP in 2023, when he helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup, had 69 points (42 goals, 27 assists) in 82 games last season and four points (two goals, two assists) in seven playoff games. He has 487 points (230 goals, 257 assists) in 638 regular-season games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Lightning, Florida Panthers and Golden Knights, and 76 points (36 goals, 40 assists) in 102 playoff games.
“To me, it’s an organizational win for today,” Trotz said. “But we don’t play the game on paper. Our lineup looks better, but we’ve got to be a better team. Plain and simple. You saw last year it took some time. This year it will take some time for some guys. We’ve got players from different organizations that don’t quite play the same way, but I think their DNA allows them to play the way we want them to play. We’ve got to give them a little time, and then hopefully we can get our feet off the ground and into training camp. I’m really excited about that.”
Trotz said his biggest priority heading into free agency was to address the void in the lineup left after Nashville traded defenseman Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay on May 21.
“A, he’s a good defender, and B, he’s a leadership guy,” Trotz said of McDonagh. “If I had to prioritize, I said I needed to fix the back end because I told our players I was going to do that.”
The Predators believe they did that with Skjei, whom they signed to a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million AAV). The 30-year-old had an NHL career-high 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 80 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 11 playoff games.
Selected by the New York Rangers in the first round (No. 28) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Skjei has 247 points (68 goals, 179 assists) in 609 regular-season games for the Hurricanes and Rangers, and 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 76 playoff games.
The Predators also re-signed defenseman Alexandre Carrier to a three-year, $11.25 million contract ($3.75 million AAV) and signed goaltender Juuse Saros to an eight-year, $61.92 million contract ($7.74 million AAV) that will begin with the 2025-26 season.
Saros, 29, has one season remaining on a four-year, $20 million contract ($5 million AAV) he signed with Nashville on Aug. 16, 2021. He was 35-24-5 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 64 games last season and 2-4 with a 2.02 GAA and .900 save percentage in six playoff games.
Carrier, 27, had 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 73 games last season and three points (one goal, two assists) in three playoff games.
Wedgewood signed a two-year, $3 million contract ($1.5 million AAV) to compete to be Saros’ backup. He was 16-7-5 with a 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage in 32 regular-season games (28 starts) for the Dallas Stars last season and had a 2.28 GAA and .862 save percentage in three games off the bench in the playoffs (no decisions) — his only NHL postseason experience.
A third-round pick (No. 84) by the New Jersey Devils in the 2010 NHL Draft, the 31-year-old is 48-48-22 with a 2.98 GAA and .899 save percentage in 130 NHL regular-season games (114 starts) for the Devils, Arizona Coyotes and Stars.
Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, selected by Nashville with the No. 11 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, will also vie for the backup role at training camp. He has played three NHL games.
The Predators believe their additions in free agency have given them the necessary components to compete in the playoffs.
“I’ve been on championship-winning teams in the past in Tampa,” Stamkos said. “You see those teams that have won recently, there’s always a mix of a really good goaltender, an elite defenseman and some elite forwards. Even before today with the signings, Nashville checked those boxes. Obviously, a great goalie. (Defenseman) Roman Josi, he speaks for himself. You’ve got [forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist], that line was dynamic last year. And they’ve got a great mix of younger players, too.”
The Predators haven’t yet determined where Stamkos, Marchessault and Skjei will fit into the lineup, but Stamkos and Marchessault will likely be top-six forwards. Skjei could play with Josi on Nashville’s top pair.
“We’re so excited to be part of this amazing franchise,” Stamkos said. “We saw what happened today with some of the other signings. A great day to be a Nashville Predators fan. Very, very excited to be part of that.”
