Alex Pietrangelo Officially Finalizing Deal With Vegas Golden Knights
I gotta be honest- it is TOUGH to imagine that any sort of contract bonuses or language are worth not retaining your #1 defenseman who was the Captain of a Stanley Cup Team for 8 Million dollars a year. Like what cost does a #1 D-man come at if its not 8 Million a year? I trust Doug Armstrong has a trillion reasons for the decisions he makes, and I'm not going to act like I have the cap numbers and data that they went off of. On the eye test though, an 8x8 does not seem like an insane ask for Alex Pietrangelo.
We all knew this was coming when they signed Krug, but it still is surreal and sucks. I think Vegas has a VERY strong chance at a Stanley Cup in the next year or two when you combine the roster they currently have with a bonafide #1 defenseman like Petro. Especially one that just won a first Stanley Cup for a franchise a year ago. There is a really legitimate chance the Blues see #27 deep into a playoff run in the coming years and it is going to be WEIRD!
Don't say I didn't tell you on Friday... 2 for 2 in this year's free agency NBD.
UPDATE: In my haste to get the blog up I read 8.8 as 8x8 which makes no sense since Vegas could only offer 7 years. 8.8 Million makes way more sense towards the 9 that he was originally rumored to be looking for, but honestly I don't have much of a difference in opinion. Would years 5-7 undoubtedly be a problem when he is much older? Almost definitely, but that is how Unrestricted Free Agents get paid in this league. The open market is going to inflate the cost a little bit and the thing that really sticks out to me, is that we KNOW what Petro is. We don't fully know what the prospects will become, and we don't fully know how Krug will mesh into the lineup, but we had a sure thing in Alex Pietrangelo and to me that makes the cost way more tolerable. Yes 8.8 AAV is a lot, but when you can pencil in 25 minutes of surefire #1 defense in, I can't imagine that not being worth it. Maybe not in years 5-7, but for sure in the next 4 where the team seems most likely positioned for another Stanley Cup. What's done is done and now we just get to see it all play out. Army let Backes walk and that ended up being a genius decision, no matter how sour it was at the time, so why not trust him now?