Alex Pietrangelo isn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman, who stepped away from hockey in June because of a severe hip injury, now says he won’t rule out returning at some point this season.
Battling through a hip that nearly ended it all
Doctors once told the 35-year-old he would need major reconstruction surgery on both femurs, with no guarantee it would even work. Pietrangelo chose a different path. Instead of surgery, he’s been rehabbing and, according to him, making progress.
“Nothing is really concrete,” he said Monday at Golden Knights camp. “I’m just going to continue to take it day by day and see where it goes.”
Toll of a long career
Pietrangelo admitted the hip issue had been lingering for years, but last season it became impossible to ignore. He still gutted through 71 regular-season games and 10 more in the playoffs, logging over 23 minutes a night when Vegas needed him most.
Skipping the 4 Nations tournament to focus on the postseason showed how much he was already sacrificing just to stay on the ice.
Champion’s resume
The 17-year veteran has little left to prove. He captained the St. Louis Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019 and lifted another with Vegas in 2023. His career totals, 637 points in 1,087 games, place him among the elite defensemen of his era.
Pietrangelo still has two years left on the seven-year deal he signed with Vegas in 2020, carrying an $8.8 million cap hit. The Knights, tight on salary space after adding Mitch Marner’s $12 million deal, will keep him on long-term injured reserve to start the season.
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Uncertain road ahead
For now, the question is less about when Pietrangelo will play again and more about whether his body will allow him to. His words offered hope, but also realism: there’s no timeline, only the possibility.
If he does make it back, it won’t just be a comeback. it would be one of the most unlikely returns hockey has seen in years.
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