Pietrangelo celebrates Stanley Cup win with daughter after health scare

LAS VEGAS -- As he stood on the T-Mobile Arena ice amidst the chaotic euphoria of the Vegas Golden Knights' Stanley Cup celebration Tuesday, the most cherished thing Alex Pietrangelo coddled in his arms was not hockey's glistening Holy Grail.

On this, the most special of all special nights for the Pietrangelo family, it was a little blonde-haired miracle named Evelyn, his precious 4-year-old daughter who wore a big black ribbon in her hair and an infectious smile on her face that could light up an NHL arena.

Which, in this moment, it did.

"This is the most surreal moment of my life," the Golden Knights defenseman said, his voice cracking with emotion as he hugged Evelyn. "To have her here in my arms, celebrating Daddy's Stanley Cup win, just to celebrate anything … "

He paused. The emotions flooded through him. His eyes welled up.

Vegas had just defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. With the victory, it won the Cup in its sixth season of existence.

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These were tears of joy. And not just for his second Stanley Cup championship, adding to the one he'd helped the St. Louis Blues win in 2019.

"You have to understand what it means for her to be here with me, with us, like this," Pietrangelo said. "Six months ago, she couldn't eat, she couldn't talk, she couldn't walk. Six months ago, I was ready to give up my career for her.

"I never envisioned a moment like this back then. And now, to win a Cup, to have her running around the ice to celebrate with us, I mean, dreams do come true. And this is a dream."

He bent over and put Evelyn down on the ice. She immediately scurried over to her mom, Alex's wife, Jayne. Together with Alex, it seemed like a lifetime ago that their lives were, in his words, "a nightmare."

In late November of last year, Evelyn caught the flu. Or so the family thought. Unfortunately, it quickly turned into encephalitis, stripping her of her motor skills.

"She couldn't open her eyes for five days," Pietrangelo recalled.

He was ready to give it all up at the time. If it meant hanging up his skates for good, so be it.

He'd loved hockey ever since he was a boy in King City, Ontario, just north of Toronto.

He loved his daughter more.

"You wonder what plan God has for you when something like that happens," he said. "You're not thinking about hockey, about when you might play again. Who cares? All you're thinking about is, 'What's happening to her? Why is it happening to her? And what can I do to help her get better?'"

The doctors and Mother Nature took care of that. And though it will still take months for her to fully recover, Evelyn Pietrangelo on this night looked like any little girl who will celebrate her fifth birthday July 20.

"This is unreal," Pietrangelo said. "I can't say it enough.

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Evelyn's journey, much like that of her family, has been anything but easy. Yet for someone so young, so small, so adorable, she has produced the type of valiant battle her dad could not be prouder of.

One moment earlier in the series reminded him of that.

The Golden Knights were in South Florida for Games 3 and 4. With Vegas up 2-0 in the best-of-7 series at the time, the focus was on zone clearances and breakout patterns, power play setups and defensive face-off positioning.

Then came a video call from Pietrangelo's family back in Las Vegas. And all that changed.

There was his little girl, grinning ear to ear, bouncing and bopping around to the tunes being played in the background. The same little girl who could barely move late last year.

Miracles do happen, it seems.

"Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at where she is," Pietrangelo recalled. "It usually hit me when I was on the road and my wife would send me a video of her. Sometimes you take things for granted and need a reminder."

This, he said, was one of these times.

"There she is, on the video, dancing and singing in the living room," he recalled. "The kids got a few songs about God and Jesus that they like and sing and dance to.

"That's when it really hits you hard. That's when you really appreciate how far she's come."

In such a short time too.

On July 20, 2018, Jayne gave birth to triplets: Evelyn, a girl, and brothers, Oliver and Theodore. A year later, Pietrangelo, the Blues captain at the time, brought the Cup home to King City, where his mom, Edy, put her homemade pasta in the top of it. At one point, wee Evelyn could be seen sticking her fingers in there to get a lick.

"The kids were so young at the time," Pietrangelo said. "They didn't understand. They just liked running around and touching it."

In September of 2020, the couple welcomed a fourth child, Julia Grace. For Alex and Jayne, who had suffered a miscarriage in 2017, each child was a blessing.

Then came last fall, when all that changed.

Encephalitis is a type of brain lesion that practically paralyzed Evelyn for several days. Pietrangelo told Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon and coach Bruce Cassidy that he couldn't and wouldn't return to work until Evelyn was better. And if that took years, so be it.

Fortunately, after doctors opted for a certain type of treatment, it worked. After a number of days in the hospital, Evelyn returned home. Pietrangelo returned from a nine-game absence Dec. 17.

"I'm just so grateful to the Knights," he said. "They supported me every step of the way."

For Cassidy, it was not even a question.

"We're all thankful for Evey's recovery and good health," the coach said. "I can't imagine what 'Petro' and Jayne went through. As a parent myself, I'm sure they would have done anything to trade places with their daughter.

"Alex is a huge part of our team, but family comes first. He had the full support of his Vegas Golden Knights hockey family every step of the way. Very scary situation. No one knew how severe it was, and then we were on the road, so it was difficult for the guys to stay connected.

"Grateful it worked out in the end."

So is McCrimmon.

"We are all incredibly grateful that Evelyn is doing well and could watch her dad play hockey," the GM said. "Organizationally, it's easy. Family comes first. Our players are husbands and fathers first, then hockey players. We'll make every decision regarding players in that order.

"Players appreciate it, and so do their families."

Jayne and Alex certainly did.

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On Oct. 13, 2020, Pietrangelo signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with the Golden Knights. It had an average annual value of $8.8 million.

He was the workhorse Vegas had hungered for on the blue line. The Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs had shown interest, but McCrimmon in the end convinced him financially and competitively that The Strip was the place to be.

This season, he finished with 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 73 games. The only games he missed were the ones he'd left the team for to be with Evelyn.

In 21 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he had 10 points (one goal, nine assists), was plus-9 and led the Golden Knights in average ice time per game (23:25). And when the final horn sounded Tuesday, he was one of the first players to mob goalie Adin Hill.

"These guys are just so special," Pietrangelo said. "They came to work every day looking to get better. They were a fun group to be around. And they were so supportive."

The 33-year-old looked around the rink at his teammates. At center Jack Eichel, whose career was in jeopardy not so long ago due to a neck injury. At wing Phil Kessel, who'd just won his third championship, the other two coming with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

"It means so much to all of us," Pietrangelo said.

To his father, Joe as well. Joe Pietrangelo had coached Alex on a summer team known as the Toronto Blues when he was 11. Also on that roster: Steven Stamkos, now captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and John Tavares, who holds the same role with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, there was Joe, standing on the ice watching his son playfully rub noses with Evelyn.

"I'm so proud," Joe Pietrangelo said. "It says a lot that he was willing to give all of this up for his family.

"As a parent, you just want the best for your kids, more than anything else."

Given his past six months, Alex Pietrangelo, Stanley Cup champion for a second time, couldn't agree more.