His deal is friendlier to Kelly McCrimmon the Golden Knights
Golden Knights fans anticipated a potential deal between the franchise and their beloved winger, Jonathan Marchessault, during the summer. Would the "Misfit" stay with the team until he retired? Unfortunately, term length was the sticking point as the French-Canadian winger started working on his Southern drawl.
However, Shea Theodore turned out to be a better option for re-signing with the team. He's younger (29 years old), bigger (6'2", 197 lbs.), and serves a bigger purpose as a offensive-minded defenseman. Therefore, the choice was obvious to McCrimmon as Theodore got a new contract on Thursday.
Not only is McCrimmon getting more value on the physical front, but he's also getting value on the money side. The NHL salary cap will grow over the years, as will other player's contracts. When you're paying a star defenseman $7,425,000 in a season while others are getting $10 million, it saves money for the team. That's where Vegas stands with the contract, where forward thinking will serve them well in the later years.