Pietrangelo 'disappointed' to leave Blues, set for new chapter with Vegas

Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey LeagueBienvenue à LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockeyДобро пожаловать на NHL.com, официальный сайт Национальной хоккейной лигиTervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiinVälkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sidaVítejte na NHL.com, oficiálních stránkách National Hockey LeagueVitajte na NHL.com, oficiálnych stránkach National Hockey LeagueWillkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey LeagueBienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey LeagueAlex Pietrangelo wrestled with the decision to leave the St. Louis Blues before signing a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights as an unrestricted free agent Monday."I never really counted the Blues out until I put pen on paper," he said Tuesday.The defenseman had spent his entire 12-season NHL career with the Blues, the last four as captain. Many teams are tight against the cap or internal budgets."I went into this thing with an open mind not really knowing what to expect," Pietrangelo said.After the market opened and the Golden Knights called, Pietrangelo decided to visit, because he didn't know much about Las Vegas beyond The Strip.He flew to Las Vegas on Saturday and toured the Summerlin area, where players live and the Golden Knights have their practice facility. He said Stastny spoke highly of the Golden Knights and how they treated players and their families, which is significant considering Stastny signed as a UFA on July 1, 2018, and was traded to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.He also spoke to coach Peter DeBoer, whom he compared to Blues coach Craig Berube in that he wants his defensemen to be active and defend by playing with the puck in the offensive zone."I think if things didn't work out, we probably would have gone to see another place and done our homework [on that team] as well," he said. "I took some time, and I would have taken as long as I had to take to make the right decision for us."In the end Monday, the decision was Vegas."Obviously, the atmosphere [at T-Mobile Arena], I mean, I think everybody agrees it's probably the best place to play in the NHL right now," Pietrangelo said. He said the family still had a house in St. Louis and he would probably return in the offseason and skate with his former teammates."The good part about Vegas for us too, which was part of the decision, was it's easy to get on a flight and get back to St. Louis if my wife wants to come home and see her family too," Pietrangelo said.