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LAS VEGAS — Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault, who scored a career-high 42 goals this season, said Tuesday that he has not spoken with the club about a new contract.

If the sides don’t reach an agreement by July 1, Marchessault will enter the open market as a free agent. An original member of the Golden Knights, the 33-year-old winger won the Conn Smythe Trophy last year as the Stanley Cup playoffs MVP.

Marchessault signed a six-year contract in January 2018 worth $5 million a year.

“We don’t have a call yet or anything,” Marchessault said before participating in the opening day of the World Series of Poker. “They said they were interested to sign me. They have time until June 30 or so.”

The Golden Knights did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but general manager Kelly McCrimmon said after the season that he valued Marchessault for what he has done on and off the ice.

Marchessault, who came within one goal of tying William Karlsson‘s single-season franchise record, is one of the team’s more vocal leaders.

“There’s certainly a real strong willingness from both sides to have real good discussions,” McCrimmon said at the time. “That’s what we’re going to work on.”

It would not be surprising if Vegas let Marchessault walk, however, given its history of quickly moving on, like when it traded goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks in July 2021. The Golden Knights signaled that they might be moving on when they acquired Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin before this year’s trade deadline and later gave Hanifin an eight-year contract worth $7.35 million annually.

Plus, the Golden Knights had a chance to re-sign Marchessault last summer.

“I asked last summer,” Marchessault said. “I said I would rather do it in the summer before the season. They said they’re not ready to do that, and after there’s not even a single talk that I’ve had during the season. I don’t know. Technically, as an organization, you’ve signed a player for six years, right? So you have the full six years and after you can deal with it, so we’ll see.”

Marchessault led the Golden Knights to their first Stanley Cup title last year, totaling 13 goals and 25 points in the playoffs. Vegas’ hopes of repeating ended when the Dallas Stars eliminated the Knights in seven games in the first round.

The Stars are still playing, leading the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

“I still think us and Dallas were the two best teams in the West and the winner of that series was going to make it to the finals,” Marchessault said. “I don’t think the other teams in the conference were near our two teams. I think Dallas is going to make it to the finals, and personally I think they’re going to win.”

Marchessault played for Stars coach Pete DeBoer when he coached the Golden Knights for 2½ seasons ending in 2022. Dallas assistant coaches Steve Spott and Misha Donskov also have been with Vegas.

Marchessault said he would love to see those coaches “get a Cup, and also a guy like Joe Pavelski. Such a great career. He’s done everything but win [the championship]. So I would like to see him win a Cup.”

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Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

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Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.

Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.

A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.

The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.

Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.

Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.

“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”

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Sources: Nats demote All-Star after all-nighter

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Sources: Nats demote All-Star after all-nighter

The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.

Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.

Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.

Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.

Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.

“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”

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Sources: Utah QB Rising (hand) game-time call

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Sources: Utah QB Rising (hand) game-time call

Utah quarterback Cam Rising is a game-time decision with an injury to his throwing hand, sources told ESPN, with the expectation that he will attempt to start.

No. 12 Utah plays at No. 14 Oklahoma State on Saturday, one of the biggest games of the season in the Big 12.

Rising has been limited in practice this week with the injury, and he is not expected to be 100% if he does play. He will be monitored closely to see how his injured fingers impact how he throws. The fingers play a huge role in both spin and velocity, which will impact his effectiveness in the passing game.

He injured his hand Sept. 7 against Baylor in the second quarter when he threw a ball away and was pushed out of bounds and landed awkwardly on the water coolers on the Bears sideline.

Rising warmed up with a glove on his hand before last week’s game against Utah State but did not play, and he was spotted with two fingers wrapped on the sideline against Baylor. It’s uncertain if he will use the glove on Saturday.

Utah’s offense plays a majority of its snaps under center and uses clapping as a mechanism in its snapping operation, which would both stress the fingers.

Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson is a true freshman who made his first career start against Utah State, going 20-of-33 passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns. He took first-team reps in practice this week when Rising wasn’t out there.

Wilson is the brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who now plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

Rising is a seventh-year senior who had emerged as one of the Pac-12’s top quarterbacks in 2021 and 2022. He has been snakebit by injuries in recent seasons, as an injury in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season ultimately led to him missing the entire 2023 season.

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