Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to cue up Sarah MacLachlan. The Vegas Golden Knights got some rough news on Sunday.
Alex Pietrangelo could reportedly miss the entire 2025–26 season pic.twitter.com/kyqgE8ppUm
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) June 29, 2025
Experts like Nick Kypreos have given the possibility that Pietrangelo could be done playing hockey for good. While that could help Vegas with much-needed cap relief, the story ultimately revolves around a tragic set of circumstances during his Vegas stay.
First, there was the unfortunate incident involving his daughter being sick with encephalitis. There was also him missing the 4 Nations Faceoff. Now? He's expected to miss the 2025-26 season.
The Ontario native might've staying off the scoresheet during his Golden Knights tenure (39 goals and 148 assists), save for 2022-23. However, he was an integral defenseman to their Stanley Cup run. How, you ask?
For one, he blocked shots, blocking 720 during his Vegas stay. Pietrangelo was also an excellent forechecker with 247 takeaways. However, this past season showed his age, stats-wise.
The 35-year-old almost doubled his career-high in giveaways with 106 this past season. He also scored four goals and 29 assists in 2024-25, marking a steady decline in his production. Pietrangelo also saw his numbers in blocked shots (139, down from 177 in 2022-23), hits (41, down from 65 in 2022-23), and takeaways (25, down from 93 in 2021-22) all take a hit.
Salute to Alex Pietrangelo for being the premier defenseman the Vegas Golden Knights needed
Heading into the 2020-21 season, the Vegas Golden Knights were starved for an elite first-pairing defenseman. Sure, they had Shea Theodore, who was a great two-way defenseman when healthy. But they needed someone with a 200-ft. game that could block shots.
In comes the former St. Louis Blues star, who redefined what it meant to be a Golden Knight. That meant putting your body on the line every night, taking away shooting lanes. It meant going above and beyond every play, ensuring your team had a favorable chance.
It led to him getting his second Stanley Cup in his career. It also completed a promise given by Bill Foley, guaranteeing that his prophecy would be fulfilled. Most of all, it established the Golden Knights as one of the premier teams in the NHL.
For that, I say thank you to Mr. Pietrangelo for making those dreams happen. Thank you for doing everything in your power to ensure Vegas was that premier team that nobody could take down. Most of all, thank you for delivering a Stanley Cup.