3 NHL teams that could lose one of their best players in 2024 ft. Jonathan Marchessault x Vegas Golden Knights

Due to the salary cap in the NHL, it is hard for teams to keep their best players around year after year. With star players making more and more money, it means other key players have to sign elsewhere in free agency or get traded as their teams can no longer afford them.

Recently, we have seen Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau leave Calgary, Nazem Kadri leave Colorado, and Patrick Kane leave Chicago.

With 2024 officially upon us, here are three NHL teams that could lose one of their best players.

3 NHL teams who could lose one of their best players

#1, Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023 and were led by Jonathan Marchessault who won the Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP.

Marchessault is in the final year of his contract which is paying him $5 million per season. At age 33, Marchessault will likely get a three to five-year deal that will likely pay him around $6 million or more.

The Golden Knights currently are right at the cap and may not have space this off-season to re-sign Marchessault.

#2, Tampa Bay Lightning

Steven Stamkos is a pending free agent

Steven Stamkos has been the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning since he was drafted first overall in 2008.

Stamkos just set the record for most games played as a member of the Lightning but is a pending free agent. Many expected Stamkos to end his career in Tampa Bay, but before the season, he revealed there had been no contract talks which disappointed him.

"To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,” Stamkos said to reporters. “It was something that I expressed at the end of last year that I wanted to get something done before training camp started. There haven’t been any conversations.”

Lightning GM Julien BriseBoise then revealed he wanted to see how Stamkos and the team did this season before a possible extension:

"I need to see how this season plays out," BriseBois said. "I need to see how the pieces of the puzzle fit this year. I need to see who steps up and is able to handle a bigger role. I need to see how the team performs.

"After the season, I will have gathered that information and then I'll be in a better position to have a clearer picture of what our puzzle looks like going forward, what roster needs we might have and then how to allocate our cap space in order to build the best roster possible for not only for Steven to remain with the Lightning, but for us to stay Stanley Cup contenders year in and year out."

Stamkos has currently recorded 38 points in 36 games in what could be his final season in Tampa Bay.

#3, Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL star William Nylander is a pending UFA

The Toronto Maple Leafs are led by their core four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander but the latter may soon be gone.

Nylander is a pending free agent who's making just $6.9 million in the 2023/24 NHL season. The Swede will likely get in the $10-to-11 million range this off-season and with Toronto right at the cap, it's uncertain if the Maple Leafs will be able to afford him. If they can't, you can be sure another NHL team will snap him up.