A scoring champion in the American Hockey League, Pirri carried that offensive ability into the NHL.
From his days in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, his penchant for scoring was evident. He combined for 46 goals and 94 points in 44 games for Streetsville and Georgetown in 2008-09.
That tantalizing talent convinced the Chicago Blackhawks to select Pirri in the second round (No. 59) of the 2009 NHL Draft.
Pirri went to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall of 2009, earning ECAC All-Rookie Team honors after scoring 11 goals and 43 points in 39 games in his only college season.
The Blackhawks signed Pirri to an entry-level contract prior to the 2010-11 season, and the center made his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 9, 2010. But that would be Pirri's only NHL game of the season; he was sent to Rockford of the AHL, where he scored 12 goals and 43 points in 70 games.
In 2011-12, Pirri appeared in five games with the Blackhawks, getting two assists, while finishing the season with Rockford, where he scored 23 goals and 56 points in 66 games. Pirri finished with an AHL-leading 75 points in 2012-13, winning the John B. Sollenberger Trophy, and appeared in one game with the Blackhawks.
In 2013-14, Pirri started the season with Chicago and scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 17, 2013, against the St. Louis Blues. He also scored a goal in three consecutive games from Nov. 14-17, 2013.
On March 2, 2014, Pirri was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he scored seven goals and 14 points in 21 games. In 2014-15, Pirri's first full season in the NHL, he finished with 22 goals and 24 points in 49 games.
During the 2015-16 season, Pirri had 11 goals and 24 points in 52 games before Florida traded him to the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 29, 2016. In nine games with the Ducks, Pirri scored three goals and five points.
Pirri became a free agent after the season and signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers on Aug. 25, 2016. He scored eight goals in an NHL career-high 60 games for New York in 2016-17, but wasn't re-signed and joined the expansion Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 4, 2017.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- ECAC All-Rookie Team (2010)
- John P. Sollenberger Trophy (AHL - Top Scorer) (2013)
- Traded to Florida by Chicago for Florida's 3rd round pick (later traded to Nashville -- Nashville selected Justin Kirkland) in 2014 NHL Draft and Florida's 5th round pick (later traded to St. Louis -- St. Louis selected Conner Bleackley) in 2016 NHL Draft, March 2, 2014.
- Traded to Anaheim by Florida for Anaheim's 6th round pick (Maxim Mamin) in 2016 NHL Draft, February 29, 2016.
- Signed as a free agent by NY Rangers, August 25, 2016.
- Signed as a free agent by Vegas, October 4, 2017.
- Traded to Chicago by Vegas for Dylan Sikura, September 28, 2020.