The Vegas Golden Knights have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history. And they couldn’t have done without help from a former Florida Panthers star.

Star forward Jonathan Marchessault has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. He won the award after scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Marchessault really turned things on against his former team in the Stanley Cup Final. Entering the Final, the Golden Knights star had nine goals and 17 points to his ledger.

He went off when the puck dropped against the Panthers. He scored goals in each of the first three games of the series, including two in Game 2. And he recorded multi-point games in Games 3 and 4.

It’s a performance to behold, and it has to feel good given the circumstances around his departure from the Panthers. Florida exposed Marchessault to Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

The Golden Knights selected the Quebec native, but it didn’t stop there. The Panthers traded winger Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft to Vegas in order for the Golden Knights to take Marchessault.

Since heading to Vegas, the 32-year-old Marchessault has thrived. He has scored 150 goals and 348 points in 432 regular season games. And he’s added (x goals) and (x points) in 88 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Now, he has won the Stanley Cup for the Vegas Golden Knights. On top of that, Marchessault proved himself the most valuable piece of the best team in the entire National Hockey League.