LAS VEGAS — Perspective has become a common word in Alex Pietrangelo’s vocabulary.

Around this time two years ago, the Golden Knights defenseman was almost done with hockey.

He and his wife Jayne would wake up before sunrise every day for two weeks and make the 25-minute drive to Sunrise Children’s Hospital. There, they would see their then 4-year-old daughter Evelyn, who had been diagnosed with encephalitis — an inflammation of the brain that’s caused by a viral infection.

Evelyn lost her motor skills. She couldn’t talk. She needed a feeding tube to eat. The Pietrangelos had no idea what to expect. That meant Alex was prepared to walk away from the game he loved to be with his family.

Evelyn came home eight days before Christmas in 2022 and has made amazing progress since. Each time Pietrangelo is asked about her, he smiles wide. He is happy to talk about her, his other three kids — Oliver, Theodore and Julia Grace — and the heroic work Jayne does managing everything.

“Obviously a long couple of years, but (Evelyn has) put in a lot of work,” Pietrangelo told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The siblings help, school has definitely helped. She’s made so many strides. It’s great to see where she’s at right now.”

Time together

The perspective Pietrangelo’s family has given him has allowed him to enjoy so many moments in recent years.

He’s the hockey dad that came out of the locker room during the first intermission of the Knights’ Dec. 3 home game against the Edmonton Oilers to watch his sons skate at T-Mobile Arena.

Pietrangelo, an avid baseball fan, also loves seeing his boys learn to tell the difference between balls and strikes. His girls are involved in gymnastics and dance and are getting into tee ball as well.

The quartet keep the 34-year-old plenty occupied when he’s away from the rink.

“Whenever guys have kids, I always laugh because you try not to bring work home. And when you have kids, you can’t really bring it home. You come home, and you’re dad. That’s your first priority,” Pietrangelo said. “Am I always perfect at that? No. I think a lot of (hockey) is always in the back of your mind, like who we’re playing tomorrow or what’s going on in the game tomorrow.

“But it’s also fine now because they want to go watch hockey with me. They know the teams and know who’s playing and all that. That part of it is really cool to see them start to enjoy the game.”

Coming back

Pietrangelo, of course, returned to the Knights when he felt comfortable with Evelyn’s recovery. He won his second Stanley Cup that summer, after captaining the St. Louis Blues to the franchise’s first championship in 2019.

His 2023-24 season was more up-and-down.

Pietrangelo became the 27th active player to reach 1,000 games played, but his 33 points were his fewest in a full-length campaign since 2015-16.

The end of the year was also frustrating. Pietrangelo had his appendix removed and missed 13 of the Knights’ final 15 regular-season games. He then jumped right into the playoffs for his team’s grueling first-round series with the Dallas Stars.

He wasn’t himself when he returned. Pietrangelo lost his composure in key moments in the series, which the Knights lost in seven games. He admitted he was frustrated with how long it took him to get back on the ice.

“Injuries you can rehab, but with the internal things, you don’t really know how long it’s going to take and there’s nothing you could have done. It just is what it is,” Pietrangelo said. “A month, two months, then I’m going to hop right into the playoffs. It’s hard to get into speed that quickly.”

Pietrangelo managed to turn the page in the offseason.

He’s gotten off to a strong start with 16 points in 31 games. He’s a huge reason why the Knights are 23-8-3 and sit two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for first place in the Western Conference.

“He’s probably one of the main reasons why (we’ve had) so much success … the past three, four years,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “A guy to look up to and follow his game, just how he conducts himself on the rink, off the rink, how he treats the staff.”

‘A special thing’

Pietrangelo’s strong play came with an added bonus: A spot on Team Canada for this year’s 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

He understands how much of an honor it is to represent your country at a best-on-best event. Pietrangelo is the only player on the Knights roster with an Olympic gold medal to his name. He won it in 2014, the last Winter Games with NHL players participating until they return in 2026 in Italy.

Pietrangelo will be joined on Team Canada by Knights teammates Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Adin Hill. Coach Bruce Cassidy will also be on the bench as an assistant.

What stands out about Pietrangelo to Cassidy is the way he makes everyone in the organization feel welcomed.

“He’s a very caring guy,” Cassidy said. “He’s always been that big brother. I’m sure that’s what makes him a great dad, but that’s what he is for us here.

“I think he has a great way with the guys that way, and I think he enjoys it. Sometimes it’s not natural to connect with everybody. For him, it comes naturally. It’s really important to him and he values that a lot, and we’re lucky to have him.”

Having so many familiar faces around will make the 4 Nations Face-Off special for Pietrangelo. But what’s even more gratifying to him is the fact that his kids will get to see him play with some of the biggest stars in the world.

“I think it’s cool my kids get to see me play for my country. They’ve never seen that. That’s going to be a special thing,” Pietrangelo said. “I don’t go into the year thinking, ‘I want to make Team Canada no matter what.’ My priority is my teammates and this organization. That’s what I come into camp for.

“You know it’s there. You know it would be a great opportunity. But I’m a big believer in if you believe in yourself and you just get out there and play your game, the rest will take care of itself.”

‘You’re not going to play forever’

Pietrangelo was 24 when he won gold. He’ll turn 35 on Jan. 18, before the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The things he’s been through with his family allow him to soak up these experiences more. Pietrangelo’s younger self would just be thinking about hockey all the time.

“Ten years later, what I’m thinking about is, one, it’s going to be a great opportunity to play for my country, and two, I just want to get a picture with my kids with some of these guys,” Pietrangelo said. “Enjoy this opportunity because you don’t know if it’s ever coming again.”

Pietrangelo signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Knights in October 2020 and is set to become a free agent after the 2026-27 season. He’s not sweating about his future yet.

“You’re not going to play forever,” Pietrangelo said. “Right now, we have a couple years left on our deal. Let’s try to enjoy this as much as we can because you’re going to miss it when it’s gone. I’m going to miss the opportunity to come to work with these guys every single day.”

Pietrangelo’s family is what keeps him grounded. It’s why he’s still motivated to play the game. The greatest feeling for him comes from seeing Jayne and the kids watching him during warmups.

He may not know how much time he has left in his career. But he sure knows who he’s playing for.

“I think it’s probably even more special for me and my wife to watch that, because as you get older and the kids get older, it’s like you start to play for them because they love watching you,” Pietrangelo said.

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