Alex Pietrangelo
This one hurts because this was arguably the biggest free agent signing in Vegas Golden Knights history. Alex Pietrangelo filled the need of a first-pair defenseman perfectly, blocking 581 shots, creating 222 takeaways, and making 205 hits in his four seasons. He guided the team to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history behind his sacrifice, making him one of the best blue-liners in the past decade.
However, everything good has a time limit, especially when it comes to elite defensemen. His defensive stats dropped from his Stanley Cup-winning season across the board. That included his blocked shots (177 in 2022-23 compared to 160 last season), hits (65 hits in 2022-23 compared to 46 in 2023-24), and takeaways (56 takeaways in the Stanley Cup-winning year compared to 50 in 2023-24).
That also goes for his offensive production, where he's scored fewer goals from 2022-23 (11 compared to four last season) and assists (43 compared to 29 last season). It's tough seeing a great blue-liner fall off regarding production. But being 34 years old doesn't help his cause, specifically when he's slowing down in his career.