Pietrangelo’s status will have a big impact on Vegas’ offseason

The Vegas Golden Knights will be looking to make moves this summer, as they have been tied to several high-profile free agents, including Mitch Marner. At the moment, the Golden Knights have approximately $9.6 million in cap space, but the team might be able to create more by putting Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8 million on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR).

With a number of pending unrestricted free agents, including Reilly Smith, Victor Olofsson, as well as pending restricted free agent Nicolas Hague, placing Pietrangelo on LTIR could pave the way for the Golden Knights to bring back at least one of those players, as well as sign one of the NHL’s big fish in free agency.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Pietrangelo’s injury situation, the list of pending UFAs and RFAs, and what the rest of the offseason holds for a Vegas team trying to compete for its second Stanley Cup championship.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The Golden Knights putting Alex Pietrangelo on LTIR could drastically affect their summer.

Frank Seravalli: It would, and I think it’s something that a lot of people are wondering about behind the scenes. There hasn’t been any formal declaration from Vegas. I think his status has been a bit of a mystery. This is a player that bailed out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, due to his body not cooperating. It felt like an odd situation, then.

We got to the playoffs and Pietrangelo wasn’t quite at the level that a lot of people would hope, but they gave no indication as to what that means for his future and for next season. If everyone is looking for an off-ramp for Vegas, that’s what they’re seeing as a way to create more cap space easily.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…