Golden Knights’ tireless defenseman nears milestones

Alex Pietrangelo set an objective at the start of last postseason.

Three of the Golden Knights defenseman’s four children had experienced a day with the Stanley Cup, because he and his wife, Jayne, welcomed triplets less than a year before his first championship with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. But Julia, his youngest, still hadn’t.

“It was kind of my goal to get them all in there,” Pietrangelo said. “That was a cool feeling.”

Winning the Cup again with the Knights not only delivered priceless moments for the 33-year-old and his family but also put him among rarefied air in NHL history.

Pietrangelo, the Knights’ two-way bedrock on the back end, is only the sixth defenseman to win multiple Cups while leading his team in minutes since the league began tracking time on ice in 1997-98. His importance can be hard to quantify at times because he’s so involved in all areas of the game. But at this point, his accomplishments speak for themselves.

“He really does it all,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “That’s why he’s able to crunch so many minutes. We always joke around that he just never gets tired. That he could stay out for the whole 60 minutes and he’d be fine. He’s kind of just built like that.”

There was a time when the Knights didn’t know if they’d get Pietrangelo back for a Cup run.

Pietrangelo took a nine-game leave of absence starting in November last season when his daughter Evelyn was diagnosed with encephalitis, or inflammation in the brain. She lost all motor skills and couldn’t eat, walk or talk.

Pietrangelo was committed to staying home until Evelyn’s condition improved. She was walking again by the time he rejoined the Knights on Dec. 17 and was at his first game back at T-Mobile Arena that night.

Pietrangelo admitted it was a “long year,” but said things are good now. The entire family enjoyed the Cup run together. Pietrangelo said winning was even more fun the second time around because his kids had a better understanding of what was happening.

“I would’ve felt a little bit bad if we didn’t have a good run,” Pietrangelo said. “It was a little hard for my wife being home with all four of them, especially in the playoffs and what we went through. It was a feeling of knowing if we finished it off the right way, workwise, it was worth it.”

The Knights leaned on Pietrangelo through it all.

He played a team-high 23:25 in the playoffs, 3:17 more than any other player. He was tasked with shutting down some of the best forwards the NHL has to offer in Connor McDavid, Roope Hintz and Matthew Tkachuk, and still found ways to contribute offensively.

His 10 points in 21 games were the second-most on the Knights’ blue line. Pietrangelo also finished plus-10 at five-on-five despite the difficult assignments.

“Sometimes you see points, you think he’s a puck mover and he stays out of the fray,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “That’s not the case at all (with Pietrangelo). He’s in the middle of every scrum, in the middle of every puck battle doing his share. Very competitive individual. It’s why he’s been successful and a really good pro.”

The Knights aren’t likely to stop relying on Pietrangelo anytime soon.

He’s been a key part of the team’s success, and his value should become even more apparent as he approaches three significant milestones this season.

Pietrangelo is 10 goals from becoming the 46th defenseman to score 150 in his career. He’s also 29 points from becoming the 48th blue liner to hit 600.

In a testament to his endurance and longevity, Pietrangelo is 48 games from making his 1,000th NHL appearance. Only 382 players in league history, 123 of them defensemen, have done that.

There’s a reason Pietrangelo has helped two franchises win their first Stanley Cup. He’s the kind of all-around player a blue line can be built around, and the Knights are happy theirs revolves around him.

“He’s just experienced and just so smart,” center Chandler Stephenson said. “He’s been around for a long time. Has played against a lot of different skill sets. He just kind of knows every move. He’s seen everything.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on X.