Alex Pietrangelo Considers Return This Season
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to action this season as he continues his rehabilitation from a hip injury that has kept him off the ice. In June, 35-year-old Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights announced that he would take a break due to the “intensity of hockey” to assess whether his injured hip could improve enough to allow him to have a “normal quality of life.” General Manager Kelly McCrimmon mentioned at the time that the injury “would require a bilateral reconstruction of the femur, with no guarantee of success.” Initially, several reports suggested that Pietrangelo, the team’s number one defenseman, would miss at least the entire 2025-26 season. The player himself stated in June that “the probability of my body recovering to the standard required to play is low.” However, Pietrangelo revealed on Monday that he has chosen not to undergo surgery, while following a rehabilitation program that has given him positive results. When asked if a return this season was ruled out, Pietrangelo did not rule it out.Pietrangelo explained that the hip problem started years ago, but that last season “is when it really took its toll on me.” He played despite the injury, even missing the 4 Nations Face-Off to focus on the Stanley Cup playoffs. In total, he played 71 games in the regular season and another 10 in the postseason, averaging 23:03 minutes of ice time in the playoffs. With 17 years of experience in the NHL, Pietrangelo led the St. Louis Blues (2019) and the Golden Knights (2023) to Stanley Cup championships. He has accumulated 637 points in 1,087 career games. Pietrangelo has two years left on his contract with the Golden Knights, a seven-year contract he signed as a free agent in 2020, with an $8.8 million cap hit. The Golden Knights have limited cap space after acquiring star winger Mitch Marner from Toronto with a new contract that has a $12 million impact. Vegas will begin the season with Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve. Recently, the NHL and the NHLPA agreed to accelerate changes to the collective bargaining agreement that address the salary cap benefits of players on LTIR and establish a postseason salary cap.Nothing is really concrete. I’m just going to keep going day by day and see how it goes.
Alex Pietrangelo
