Vegas star Alex Pietrangelo won’t rule out return this season

• Greg WyshynskiSep 22, 2025, 03:43 PM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will not rule out a return to play this season as he continues to rehab a prolonged hip injury.

Pietrangelo, 35, and the Golden Knights announced in June that he was stepping away from “the intensity of hockey” to see if his injured hip could improve to the point where he could have “a normal quality of life.” GM Kelly McCrimmon said at the time that the injury “would require bilateral femur reconstruction, with no guarantee of success.”

Multiple reports indicated that Pietrangelo, the team’s No. 1 defenseman, would miss the entire 2025-26 season at a minimum. The defenseman himself said in June that “the likelihood is low that my body will recover to the standard required to play.”

But Pietrangelo said Monday that he has opted not to have surgery while continuing a rehab program that has given him positive results. When asked if a return this season was off the table, Pietrangelo wouldn’t rule it out.

“Nothing is really concrete. I’m just going to continue to take it day-by-day and see where it goes,” he said at the Golden Knights’ training camp.

Pietrangelo said that the hip issue started years ago but that last season “was when it really took a toll on me.” He played through it, skipping the 4 Nations Face-Off to focus on the Stanley Cup playoffs. He played 71 games overall and then another 10 in the postseason, averaging 23:03 in ice time in the playoffs.

A 17-year NHL veteran, Pietrangelo led the St. Louis Blues (2019) and the Golden Knights (2023) to Stanley Cup championships. He has 637 points in 1,087 career games.

Pietrangelo has two years remaining on a seven-year contract he signed as a free agent with Vegas in 2020, and it carries an $8.8 million salary cap hit. The Golden Knights have limited cap space after acquiring star winger Mitch Marner from Toronto with a new contract that has a $12 million hit.

Vegas will open the season with Pietrangelo on long-term injured reserve. The NHL and NHLPA recently agreed to expedite changes to the collective bargaining agreement that address the salary cap benefits from players on LTIR and establish a postseason cap.

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