The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t waste a second to land Mitch Marner, who was ready to part with Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. But the moves in the Sin City didn’t stop there, with a flurry of moves on Tuesday that included landing a Stanley Cup champion with the Florida Panthers.
On the very first day of NHL free agency, Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced the signing of defenseman Jaycob Megna to a two-year contract through the 2026-27 NHL season.
Megna, who turns 33 in December, got his hands on the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2025 despite spending most of his time with the team’s AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers as he was on a two-way contract.
The Florida native made eight appearances with the Panthers in the 2025-26 NHL season, failing to score any points. In contrast, Megna played in 64 games in the minors, where he recorded 16 points (2 G, 14 A) and a +26 rating.
Jaycob Megna #6 of the Florida Panthers celebrates with the Stanley Cup following the Cup win against the Edmonton Oilers in Game Six of the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena on June 17, 2025 in Sunrise, Florida.
In Megna, the Golden Knights are getting a veteran with 193 NHL games under his belt, with 27 points (4 G, 23 A) through seven seasons. Vegas will be the sixth team in his career, with previous stops in Anaheim, San Jose, Seattle, and Chicago before winning the Stanley Cup in Florida.
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Golden Knigths stayed busy after landing Marner from Matthews’ Maple Leafs
The Golden Knights made an early statement ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season, starting Tuesday by completing a big sign-and-trade to land Marner from Toronto on an eight-year, $96 million contract.
It was a highly anticipated move, as Marner was expected to hit free agency after a fruitful yet trophyless tenure alongside Matthews on the Maple Leafs. The Golden Knights saw their opportunity to improve, and they seized it.
After landing Marner, the front office took care of other situations and had more roster transactions to announce. Apart from Megna, Vegas announced new deals with forwards Brandon Saad, Reilly Smith, Cole Reinhardt, and defenseman Dylan Coghlan.
Stanley Cup contributors leaving the Panthers
While Megna isn’t a big casualty for the Cats, he’s not the first member from last season to pack his bags this offseason. The Panthers lost another Stanley Cup champion in Nate Schmidt, whose exit followed that of Nico Sturm.
Schmidt used free agency to get the best possible deal, and he found that in Utah. Curiously, after signing Schmidt, the Mammoth snatched another Stanley Cup champ from the Panthers in backup goalie Vitek Vanecek.
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Then again, these departures won’t hurt that much for the Panthers considering the extensions they did pull off this offseason. With Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand all staying in Sunrise, the Cats have the players that they want to build on their back-to-back championships.
