Around the NHL: Golden Knights’ Pietrangelo out for ’25-26 season, Hague dealt to Predators, Giroux re-signs with Senators

The 2025 NHL offseason is upon us, and this week is going to be the wildest of all. There’s already been a number of trades completed, and contract extensions signed, as teams look to set themselves up for success once the ball drops at noon, July 1.

General managers around the league have been preparing all year long for the business they’ll conduct over the course of the next few days, and it’s going to be interesting to see who wins, and who loses the summer.

Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Alex Pietrangelo requires multiple surgeries, out for next season

In some somber news, Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo requires multiple major surgeries, and is likely to miss the entire 2025-26 NHL season, this according to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta.

The 35-year-old two-way blueliner appeared in 71 games for the Golden Knights last season, scoring four goals, and 33 points. The King City, ON native would chip in with another six points in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Pietrangelo is owed $8.8 million against the cap for the next two seasons, which is significant as Vegas only has $757,857 in cap space at the moment and have desires of adding Mitch Marner from the Maple Leafs.

Moving Pietrangelo to long term injured reserve could help free up the finances in order to get Marner’s AAV under the salary cap. Let’s hope this isn’t the end for Pietrangelo, and he’s able to bounce back for the 2026-27 season.

Golden Knights ship Nicolas Hague to Predators

There was speculation over the weekend that the Vegas Golden Knights were in talks to move defenceman Nicolas Hague as part of a Mitch Marner trade with the Maple Leafs, turns out that’s not the case at all. Vegas moved Hague, it just wasn’t Toronto, he’ll wind up with the Predators in Nashville.

The Nashville Predators acquired defenceman Nicolas Hague from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenceman Jeremy Lauzon and center Colton Sissons, as first reported by TSN insider Darren Dreger. The Preds signed Hague to a four-year contract extension with a $5.5 million cap hit. He was set to become a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his previous three-year contract.

The interesting piece for Leafs Nation is the fact Vegas landed Colton Sissons in the trade, who could be a replacement for Nicolas Roy, who is reportedly headed to Toronto as part of the Marner return.

Claude Giroux heading back to Ottawa on one-year, bonus-layered deal

The Ottawa Senators have agreed to terms with veteran forward Claude Giroux on a one-year contract with a $2-million base salary.

Giroux’s deal also includes up to $2.75 million in performance bonuses, and according to PuckPedia, here’s a breakdown of how things shape up:

The essential detail here is that Giroux must play 50% of the Senators playoff games to earn the postseason bonuses. At 37 years old, there’s some potential this could be Giroux’s final season. He scored 15 goals and 50 points in 81 games last season, and he’ll continue to bring a ton of leadership to a team looking to take another step forward next season.

Quick hits from around the NHL:

• Boston Bruins signed Morgan Geekie to a six-year, $33 million extension. They are also reportedly in the mix to bring back Brad Marchand, meanwhile the Maple Leafs would like to stop that from happening.
• Dallas Stars offered their head coaching job to Edmonton Oilers assistant, and formers Stars’ coach Glen Gulutzan. So far, no agreement is in place.
• Anaheim Ducks re-signed goaltender Ville Husso to a two-year, $4.4 million contract. Husso will battle for Lukas Dostal’s backup role next season, after John Gibson was moved to the Detroit Red Wings.
• Columbus Blue Jackets inked defenceman Dante Fabbro to a four-year, $16.5 million contract.
• After acquiring him recently from the Chicago Blackhawks, the Seattle Kraken have bought out Joe Veleno’s final season of his contract.
• St. Louis Blues avoided a potential offer sheet, re-signing goaltender Joel Hofer to a two-year contract extension.
• Ottawa Senators acquired right-hand defenceman Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for two draft picks.
• Buffalo Sabres have signed pending unrestricted free agent defenceman Jack Rathbone to a two-year contract extension that carries an $800,000 AAV.
• Keep an eye on free-agent forward Brock Boeser receiving interest from the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers.
• Free-agent forward Nik Ehlers is expected to hear from the Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings once the market opens on Tuesday.
• Florida Panthers pending free-agent defenceman Aaron Ekblad is reportedly on the radars of the Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, and San Jose Sharks.