Vegas Golden Knights need more from Shea Theodore

Shea Theodore has been very good for the Vegas Golden Knights, but they need him to start being great.

One of the best decisions the Vegas Golden Knights made during their expansion draft was finding a way to get young defenseman Shea Theodore from the Anaheim Ducks. Every team needs a stud blueliner and Vegas got one in Theodore. However, he still needs to take another step forward in his development to be a true number one defenseman.

Through 30 games this season, Theodore has 12 points and five of those points have come on the power play. As usual, he has posted impressive underlying stats, as the Golden Knights have outshot, out-chanced, outscored, and out-attempted their opponents with him on the ice. However, his production leaves a little bit to be desired.

Theodore was supposed to be a productive defenseman. And he’s still perfectly fine there. But the Golden Knights were probably expecting just a little bit more from someone who put up outstanding numbers in the AHL. This season, he’s taken a bit of a step back.

Points Per Game

• 2017-18: 0.48
• 2018-19: 0.46
• 2019-20: 0.40

Over 82 games, Theodore’s 0.40 points per game so far this season would give him about 33 points (actually 32.8, but you can’t score 0.8 points). 33 points might not seem like a lot, but last season, only 46 defensemen had at least 33 points.

However, the Golden Knights need more production out of Theodore. Sure, his underlying stats are outstanding. Ultimately, I think that’s the most important thing to look at when evaluating defensemen. Most defensemen aren’t Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, or John Carlson. Those are guys you can count on to produce like forwards despite playing on the blueline.

That being said, the Golden Knights aren’t getting much from their defensemen. Nate Schmidt needs to step up too, but to his credit, he’s playing extremely tough minutes and is averaging 0.61 points per game through Dec. 4.

The Knights are a fairly well-balanced team. While their bottom-six forward core could use some help, few teams have a better group of top-six forwards. They effectively have two top forward lines thanks to Mark Stone and the impressive trio of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault.

Their defense, while solid, hasn’t been productive. 211 defensemen have played in at least 10 games this season. Schmidt and Theodore are their only two defensemen who rank in the top 120. Rookie Nicolas Hague hasn’t looked out of place, but hasn’t produced as much as the Knights expected. Brayden McNabb and Nick Holden are known more for their defense than their offense.

There’s a reason the Golden Knights tried very hard to trade for Erik Karlsson back in 2018. General Manager George McPhee isn’t dumb. He knows how hard it is to find a defenseman who can produce and how valuable they can be.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Golden Knights tried to add a defensemen who can produce. But, as everyone knows, Vegas has very little room under the salary cap. If the Golden Knights want to add someone at this point, they’re going to have to trade someone who’s making a substantial amount of money.

Finding a defenseman who can produce can get quite expensive. The price tag for defensemen is skyrocketing. If Theodore can give the Knights a bit more production, it could save them – both now and in the future.