On October 12th, Vegas Golden Knights General Manager announced that the team had signed all-star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $8.8 million. The former Saint Louis Blues captain is considered a top-five defenseman, and his addition to Vegas edges the team even closer to the elusive Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, cap space was running thin in the organization, especially after Robin Lehner’s generous five-year contract. So who got sacrificed? Well, it’s not who you’d think.

Beloved defenseman Nate Schmidt was part of the bittersweet trade with the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2022 third round draft pick. It’s exciting to receive the addition of an experienced Stanley Cup champion in Pietrangelo, but it’s heartbreaking to let go of such an integral piece of that original 2017-2018 team in Schmidt. I’m sure Vegas fans all around the city will await Schmidt’s inevitable return to T-Mobile Arena to show their love and respect one last time. 

Pietrangelo’s arrival seemed to many like the end of the road for goaltender Marc André-Fleury, but it looks like Fleury accepted his role as a bench player to starter Robin Lehner. This trade seems to finalize the roster for the upcoming season because the lack of cap space restricts Vegas from making more ambitious moves, but not to worry- the roster is looking extremely competitive. With a possible dynamic duo in Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore at defense, stellar goaltending by Lehner and Fleury, and offensive threats with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, this upcoming season will be exhilarating to watch. 

The 2020-2021 regular season has a tentative date scheduled sometime in late December, but it could be pushed back to January. Until then, we’ll only be able to speculate if Pietrangelo is the final piece of the puzzle to complete the Golden Knight’s ultimate mission – winning the Stanley Cup.