Alex Pietrangelo Doesn’t Rule Out Return with the Golden Knights This Season
Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has left open the possibility of returning to action this season, as he continues his recovery from a prolonged hip injury. In June, 35-year-old Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights announced that he would take a break from “the intensity of hockey” to see if his injured hip could improve to the point of allowing him to have “a normal quality of life.” General Manager Kelly McCrimmon stated at the time that the injury “would require bilateral femoral reconstruction, with no guarantee of success.” Several reports indicated that Pietrangelo, the team’s number 1 defenseman, would miss at least the entire 2025-26 season. The defenseman himself said in June that “the probability is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play.” However, Pietrangelo recently stated that he has chosen not to undergo surgery and is continuing with 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 “was when it really affected me.” He played through it, and missed the 4 Nations Face-Off to focus on the Stanley Cup playoffs. He played 71 games in total and then another 10 in the postseason, averaging 23:03 of ice time in the playoffs. A 17-year NHL veteran, Pietrangelo led the St. Louis Blues (2019) and the Golden Knights (2023) to Stanley Cup championships. He has 637 points in 1,087 career games. Pietrangelo has two years left on the seven-year contract he signed as a free agent with Vegas in 2020, and has 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 cap hit. Vegas will begin the season with Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve. The NHL and NHLPA recently agreed to accelerate changes to the collective bargaining agreement that address players’ salary cap benefits on LTIR and establish a postseason salary cap.“Nothing is truly concrete. I’m going to keep taking it day by day and see how it goes,” he said at the Golden Knights’ training camp.
Alex Pietrangelo
