Golden Knights lose 6 players to free agency; sign Zach Aston Reese, Tanner Laczynski

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It wasn’t exactly a surprise but all six of the Golden Knights UFA’s walked out the door on Monday shortly after the start of the free agency period. Star forward Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez, William Carrier, Anthony Mantha and Michael Amadio all signed with other NHL clubs, certainly putting some work on Vegas’s GM Kelly McCrimmon as he will begin to try and fill the voids in the lineup.

Jonathan Marchessault, the biggest of the Golden Knights UFA’s signed with the Nashville Predators after not being able to come to terms with the team that he spent the last 7 seasons with. Marchessault raised some eyebrows when he spoke with the media after signing his 5 year $5.5M AAV contract saying to TSN;

“I don’t think they tried their best to keep me.”

As Marchessault joined Steven Stamkos in Nashville, center Colin Stephenson signed a 7 year deal with the Seattle Kraken while Michael Amadio signed with the Ottawa Senators. Anthony Mantha who was brought over in a trade with the Capitals last season signed with the Calgary Flames, William Carrier joined the Carolina Hurricanes and defenseman Alec Martinez signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.

While the Golden Knights lost those six pieces from their club, the team did sign depth forwards in Zach Aston-Reese and Tanner Laczynski.

Aston-Reese, 29, only played 3 games in the NHL last season for the Detroit Red Wings, spending the majority of the year with AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. Prior to last year, Aston-Reese was a NHL regular over the last 5 season.

Laczynski, 27, has 38 NHL games to his resume all for the Philadelphia Flyers. Laczynski is a depth forward who will likely bounce between the AHL