The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into a peculiar offseason, filled with rumours about possible big moves and philosophical changes by the head coach, but now their veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has his health put into question.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas, on their podcast 32 Thoughts, shared that there is a level of uncertainty about Pietrangelo's health and a fear that he could be unavailable for the 2025-26 season.
Throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Pietrangelo dealt with numerous issues. Some were health-related, and others were linked to injuries. He sat out the 4 Nations Face-Off, electing to rest an ailment, and missed some time towards the end of the season. In all, the 35-year-old played 71 regular-season games, scoring four goals and 33 points to go along with 10 playoff games, where he scored two goals and six points.
Bruce Cassidy Says He's Not Concerned With Alex Pietrangelo's Injury, Expects Him To ReturnLAS VEGAS -- Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday after morning skate that he is not concerned long-term with an injury that's kept Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup.
thehockeynews.comBruce Cassidy Says He's Not Concerned With Alex Pietrangelo's Injury, Expects Him To ReturnLAS VEGAS -- Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Saturday after morning skate that he is not concerned long-term with an injury that's kept Alex Pietrangelo out of the lineup.
“Every year, I hear, ‘Oh, Pietrangelo is so badly beaten up, and he’s put his body through so much, and he’s not going to be able to play next season,’” responded Friedman to a question from Bukauskas. “And every year I get told, ‘That’s wrong.’ And every year, he’s back, and he plays, and he plays hard, and he plays great.
“You’ll remember that the NHL and the countries have an agreement [about naming Olympic teams],” Friedman continued. “The full team is the end of December, but they have to name six players by the end of June. The dates aren’t set up yet, but it sounds like it could potentially be the week of [June] 16th— which is a week and a half from now. I put together a long list for all these teams of who could be on it, and I had Pietrangelo on that list. And someone indicated to me that he might not be available.
“I don’t have any confirmation on that yet,” finished Friedman. “I still think it’s one of those things where, at this time of year, teams are trying to figure out what their rosters might look like for next year and [if there are] any injury concerns. So, we’ll see what happens with Pietrangelo… But it sounds like there’s at least the possibility that they’re trying to figure out what his health will be like for the start of next season.”
At the moment, Friedman doesn't have enough information to confirm or deny what he's been given and couldn't provide any information on what Pietrangelo is dealing with, but the news is concerning.
Pietrangelo is under contract for two more seasons, and although the team could stash him on the long-term injury reserve while he recovers, they feel they are better with him on the ice.
The Golden Knights have been linked to Mitch Marner, a top free agent this offseason and would need to be moving money around to add him to the roster. Reports have stated that the team could move Nicolas Hague and/or Ivan Barbashev to do so, but if Pietrangelo is indeed out for the season, the Golden Knights could have more cap space to freely chase free agents.
It'll be a major blow if Pietrangelo is indeed injured, but the Golden Knights will need to get to work quickly to find a way to keep the roster clicking. Kaedan Korczak has been waiting for an opportunity, and it could be his time to step in and shine.
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Cassidy Has Good Reason To Consider Load Management For Certain Knights In Last Two Games LAS VEGAS -- The Golden Knights are Pacific Division champs, they'll host a Wild Card team starting Easter Sunday and barring a casualty in the first round, will host a second-round series, too.