Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo hasn’t ruled out a return to action this season as he continues his rehabilitation from a lingering hip injury. Pietrangelo, 35, and the Golden Knights announced in June that he would step away from “the intensity of hockey” to see if his injured hip could improve to the point of having “a normal quality of life.” General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said at the time that the injury “would require bilateral femur 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 “it is unlikely that my body will recover to the standard required to play.” However, Pietrangelo said on Monday that he opted not to undergo surgery, as he continues 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, skipping the 4 Nations Face-Off to focus on the Stanley Cup playoffs. He played 71 games overall and then another 10 in the postseason, averaging 23:03 minutes 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 it has a salary cap hit of $8.8 million. The Golden Knights have limited salary cap space after acquiring star winger Mitch Marner from Toronto with a new contract that has a $12 million impact. Vegas will start the season with Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve.Nothing is really concrete. I’m just going to keep taking it day by day and see how it goes.
Alex Pietrangelo
