Vegas Golden Knights Lock Up Shea Theodore For Seven Years

After weeks of speculation, defenseman Shea Theodore signed a team-friendly deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Vegas Golden Knights are heading into the final stretch of the NHL preseason. That’s music to any Golden Knights fan who’s dying to see their team wipe out the rest of the competition. With just a little over a week to go before the real campaign begins, there’s still a ton of questions that float around this team.

How will the middle two forward lines shake out come opening night? Who will make the team, Jake Bischoff or Erik Brannstrom? But the most common question that’s been asked throughout the preseason has been “when is Shea Theodore going to resign with Vegas?” And finally, both sides found a resolution in those contract negotiations.

On late Monday night, the Vegas Golden Knights announced that they have signed restricted free agent Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract. The deal is worth 5.2 million dollars annually on the Golden Knights cap starting this year. Vegas fully expects Theodore to play the rest of the preseason and will be ready for opening night next Thursday.

This is an excellent deal for both sides, to be completely honest. Theodore’s going to be a mainstay on the Golden Knights blueline for years to come. His production has certainly picked up from past years with the Anaheim Ducks.

The sky is the limit for the Langley, British Columbia native. His ceiling tops out to be a top pairing defenseman at the NHL level. And I got news for you Golden Knights fans; if Theodore pans out to be a number one or two defensemen, then Vegas got a bargain at 5.2 million per season.

Even if he doesn’t live up to his ceiling, he most undoubtedly projects to be a top-four defenseman at the NHL level. And for his current value, the Golden Knights still have a great deal on their hands with Theodore. The only way this backfires on Vegas is if Theodore flames out and doesn’t recover, which I don’t see that being realistic.

The 23-year old played in 61 games during the Golden Knights inaugural season and collected six goals, 23 assists, and 29 points. Those numbers will surely inflate as Theodore is primed for a breakout season with Vegas following an excellent playoff performance. In 20 postseason games, Theodore notched three goals, seven assists, and ten points while also playing solid defense with partner Deryk Engelland.

If the Vegas Golden Knights want to go anywhere this season, they’re going to need Theodore to step up in a big way with Nate Schmidt out the first 20 games of the regular season due to suspension. The team will need to rely on him more often as he is now the only true balanced defenseman the Golden Knights have remaining.

After Schmidt, Theodore is the most vital piece in the Golden Knights defensive corps. An injury could set the team off the rails and possibly asking Colin Miller or Brannstrom to step in and provide stability on both sides of the puck which might be too much to ask for. While both Miller and Brannstrom are great puck-moving defensemen, the team needs steady defense, cutting off angles and more physicality while getting more ice time.

All in all, Theodore isn’t perfect either, but he’s their best option after Schmidt. Without Theodore, I’m not sure the Vegas Golden Knights could win the Stanley Cup this year. But now that he’s locked up, the Golden Knights can finally put aside the drama and just focus on playing hockey.