Vegas Golden Knights’ defenseman Alex Pietrangelo played in his 1,000th career regular-season game on Tuesday night as Vegas hosted the Minnesota Wild. Despite the 5-3 loss, the night served as a reminder for how good the 34-year-old has been during his 16-year career.
On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Pietrangelo’s impact in the league and where he ranks among the best defenseman of the salary cap era.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Last night, Pietrangelo hit the 1,000-game mark. In terms of salary-cap era defenseman, he’s just the 23rd blueliner to play 1,000 games in the cap era. Of those 23, only eight of them average more than 24 minutes per game.
I’ll ask you, Frank: where does he rank among those top defenseman?
Frank Seravalli: He’s right in the middle of that pack. You’re talking about the elite of the elite, so it’s not just “hey this guy got a ton of points or played a ton of games,” it’s how much of a dominant, two-way player he was. Yes he could put up points, but the way he defends has been elite. He’s been decorated for that, as you see the huge role he played for both his Stanley Cup championships with the St. Louis Blues and the Golden Knights.
Take a step back and look at it on the International stage, winning a Olympic gold medal with Team Canada. In some ways, you can also make the argument that while he’s handsomely paid, he’s probably underpaid for how good he’s been. He’s checked every box and not just a first-ballot Hall of Famer, he’ll go down as one of the best of his generation.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
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