Expansion draft blunder may cost Panthers a Stanley Cup

When the Florida Panthers lost Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 expansion draft, it was immediately regarded as a huge blunder that made no sense.

It has not only turned out to be one of the worst roster transactions of the salary cap era, but it might also end up helping to cost them a Stanley Cup.

Thanks to their 3-2 win over the Panthers on Saturday night, the Golden Knights are just one win away from winning their first-ever Stanley Cup. If they get that win they will bring home a championship in just their sixth season in the league, a remarkably fast climb for a new franchise.

Vegas has been a Stanley Cup contender from the moment it arrived in the NHL, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in its first season.

Part of the reason for that success was more favorable expansion draft rules than previous expansion teams had.

The other part was the other teams in the NHL completely losing their minds and giving Vegas way more than they needed to. 

One of those teams was the Panthers.

Back in the 2017 expansion draft the Panthers left Marchessault and Smith unprotected, despite the fact they both had 30-goal seasons on their resumes and were among the team's best players. Marchessault was literally the team's leading goal-scorer the previous year. 

They instead opted to protect players like Nick Bjugstad, Mark Pysyk and Alex Petrovic that did not have the same value, and in all three cases were eventually traded or dumped from the team within the next two years. 

Part of the strategy from the Panthers was the fact they were desperate to dump Smith's contract and were hoping the Vegas would take him to clear $5M in salary cap space from their books. In order to entice them to do that, they worked out a trade with Vegas that also sent Marchessault to the Golden Knights in return for them selecting Smith in the expansion draft. 

All Florida got in return was a 2018 fourth-round draft pick and some extra salary cap space.

Marchessault and Smith were immediate success stories in Vegas and have been top-line players every year since. They have also played a huge role in Vegas' Stanley Cup Final run this season, right up through the Final. 

Marchessault enters Sunday tied for the postseason lead in scoring with 24 points, while he has already scored four goals with three assists in the first four games against the Panthers. Smith, meanwhile, has a goal in the series. As a duo, they have combined for five goals on their own in the first four games of the series. The Panthers as a team only have nine goals.

It was an obvious mistake by the Panthers at the time. It is still haunting them today and might help cost them a championship.