Report: Golden Knights’ Alex Pietrangelo Likely to Miss Entire 2025-26 Season
The Vegas Golden Knights will likely be without a top-pairing defenceman all next season.
Alex Pietrangelo is expected to undergo multiple surgeries this summer to address serious injuries he’s been dealing with since last season, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported Sunday. He added there’s a chance the veteran blueliner could miss additional time beyond the 2025-26 campaign.
But both the Golden Knights and Pietrangelo are still determining the best path forward regarding his uncertain future. Those details will probably become clearer once free agency opens on Tuesday.
“We’re going to know more on that in the coming days,” general manager Kelly McCrimmon said on Saturday following the draft. “Alex and I have had a number of discussions. There are a number of decisions that need to be made. When I spoke earlier about having a number of things that need clarity, that would be one of them.”
Pietrangelo’s future had been speculated on for several weeks leading up to this year’s NHL draft, with many outside the organization fearing his health status could threaten his playing career. Now that he’s reportedly headed for a lengthy absence, it’ll surely add fuel to the fire involving those rumours.
The 35-year-old defenceman has two seasons remaining on his seven-year, $61.6-million contract, carrying an $8.8 million average annual value. It also includes a full no-move clause through the 2026-27 campaign.
After opting out of the Four Nations Face-Off tournament in February due to an undisclosed injury, Pietrangelo wound up missing 11 games during the regular season, posting four goals and 33 points across 71 contests. He also averaged 22:24 minutes per night – his lowest figure since 2009-10, averaging 16:34 during his second NHL season.
The Golden Knights would receive significant salary cap relief by placing Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve before next season, savings that could help McCrimmon further bolster his roster this off-season.
It’s already been a busy few weeks for Vegas, which continues to be tied to pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner before the market opens. They’ve also gotten a head start on a few signings, bringing back Reilly Smith and Brandon Saad, each on one-year deals worth $2 million.
Additionally, the Golden Knights created a bit of financial flexibility Monday by trading defenceman Nicolas Hague and a 2027 third-round pick to the Nashville Predators, receiving fellow blueliner Jeremy Lauzon and forward Colton Sissons in return. From this deal, Vegas saved roughly $2 million in cap space for next season.
Following these moves, the organization sits approximately $2.1 million below the $95.5 million salary cap for the 2025-26 campaign, per Puck Pedia. While placing Pietrangelo on LTIR would significantly increase their spending limits, management likely isn’t finished moving out expendable contracts this summer.
There’s still plenty of work ahead for McCrimmon, especially as the front office continues to pursue Marner and will now have to fill the void left by Pietrangelo, who owns 39 goals and 187 points in 329 career games over five seasons with Vegas.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Mccann Wennberg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.