Congratulations to Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who suited up for his 1,000th career NHL game in the club’s 5-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 12. In recognition of becoming the 40th active player to reach the milestone (he beat Brad Marchand out by one day), let’s do something we haven’t done enough of at The Hockey Writers: give Pietrangelo his flowers.
Considering Pietrangelo is the Golden Knights’ third-highest-paid player and largest free agent signing in franchise history (not to mention the top defenseman on one of the league’s best blue lines), he admittedly has not been featured in this space much. In fact, there’s isn’t a profile to be found on the 16-year veteran since this excellent piece looking at the process behind his signing in Vegas.
The lack of coverage afforded to the two-time Stanley-Cup champion can be largely attributed to Pietrangelo’s quiet consistency and reliability. In keeping with the old adage of the best defenders being the ones you don’t notice, he has made a career out of being a steady and dependable but low-key back-end presence. Even his offense is striking in its consistency season over season, as he has recorded between 37 and 54 points in all 11 of his NHL campaigns featuring more than 70 games played.
Pietrangelo Is A Minutes Eater
Perhaps the biggest asset to Pietrangelo’s game is his ability to log major minutes while maintaining a high level of defensive play. Particularly during his peak seasons with the St. Louis Blues, he would routinely average more than 25 minutes per night on the ice. The 34-year-old has now collected exactly 28,000 minutes of ice time between the regular season and playoffs, or more than 19 days worth of ice time.
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That trend has slowed down only slightly as Pietrangelo has joined the deep Golden Knights’ blue line and inched towards his mid-thirties. This season, he has logged 23:58 per game, which represents his lowest personal mark since the 2010-11 season but is still good for the 24th-highest average league-wide. Despite all that ice time, he has still produced only two seasons with a plus/minus in the negative (one of which was his nine-game age-21 season).
Pietrangelo’s Leadership
When Pietrangelo first joined the Golden Knights in the summer of 2020, the defensive corps weren’t the same veteran, battle-tested corps that exists today. Much of the personnel was the same, but Shea Theodore was 25, Zach Whitecloud was 24, and Nicolas Hague was just 22. Even with Alec Martinez (33) and Brayden McNabb (30) in tow, leadership on the back end was needed, and that’s exactly what the former Blues captain brought to the table.
“[Pietrangelo] came here to win and he’s a big part of the reason why we did,” said Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon, during the ceremony. “And on top of his abilities, he’s provided to our organization and our locker room in terms of leadership, has really exceeded our expectations. I’ve always said that Alex is way more than a hockey player. He’s a great friend for his teammates, he’s a great leader for them, they look up to him, he’s made them better.” (from ‘Golden Knights honor Alex Pietrangelo for playing in his 1,000th game,’ Toronto Star, 02/12/24)
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Even with Jack Eichel sporting the ‘C’, Pietrangelo serves as an invaluable voice in the locker room and leads by example. His mentorship of guys such Whitecloud and Hague has been a critical aspect of their development as NHL players.
Pietrangelo’s Accolades
Being a winner, a heavy minutes-logger, and a great leader are all terrific qualities, but you don’t reap all this success if you aren’t also really good at what you do. Beyond Pietrangelo’s two Cups, he has also played in three All-Star Games, was named to the NHL’s second All-Star team three times, and earned three top-five finishes in Norris Trophy voting. He has made a career out of going up against the opposition’s best forwards, both at even strength and on the penalty kill, while still putting up impressive offensive numbers.
Pietrangelo himself acknowledged how hitting the 1,000-game mark offers a welcome chance to look back on his career to this point, but just don’t expect any retirement announcement forthcoming. He remains signed for three more seasons after this one and continues to be relied upon to lead the way in ice time. Even if the coming years see that ice time come down, he can easily remain a trusted and important blue-line component as he heads into his twilight years (and, potentially, the Hall of Fame).
Congrats on 1,000 games, Alex!
