Last season was a bit of a downturn for Shea Theodore. Sure, he scored 10 goals, which is respectable for a defenseman. But Theodore also had 29 assists in 2025-26. That was a massive hit from his 50 assists in 2024-25, despite playing three more games in 2025-26.
You might not think too much about it since he led all defensemen in this category. However, the Golden Knights could stand to get more two-way play from the Original Misfit.
That's especially true with the Golden Knights trading away Pavel Dorofeyev. Someone must shoot the puck and take the burden off the goal-scoring front. Unfortunately, most NHL defensemen aren't known for lighting the lamp, which puts Theodore in a precarious position. Oh, how unsweet it is to be anchoring the blue line.
Still, that doesn't mean that he was an overall liability last season. The native of Langley, British Columbia, improved on the defensive front. He took away more space and blocked more shots (87 blocked shots last season, five more than the prior season), making him an effective two-way player. But how can he get back to respectability on the offensive front?
How Shea Theodore can redeem himself in a big way in 2026-27
Shea Theodore's biggest asset is shooting the puck. But it's not necessarily to score goals. In fact, his career-high here happens to be 14 goals in 2021-22. Instead, it's shooting to get a deflection or a rebound.
Last season, he created 13 rebounds with the Golden Knights, 4.2 more than his expected total. In fact, his rebounds created above expected has only been below 2.5 in three seasons of his NHL career. His career-high? 2018-19, where he had 11.1 rebounds created above expected and produced 23 rebounds that season.
Ironically, he had 0.4 xGoals on rebound shots last season, which is a significant drop from his career-high of 1.5 in 2021-22. Simply put, making more rebounds will help him get more assists, whether it's on the power play or even strength.
Rebounds aren't the only thing that Theodore must do for the Vegas Golden Knights
Think about how much that'll benefit players like Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone. They can abuse their bigger size to feast on those rebounds and make life miserable for opposing goaltenders. That will help the Golden Knights keep their power play momentum with Pavel Dorofeyev gone.
Of course, that's only part of the equation for Theodore this season. Taking care of the puck is also a must for the Misfit. Last season, he had 90 giveaways, with 67 coming in the defensive zone. Taking care of the puck is a small yet effective step in ensuring that he gets his numbers back up.
The good news for Theodore is that he's in the prime of his career. Theodore won't fall in the regression category as long as he stays on the ice like he did last season. If he can get back to his strengths and clean up his weaknesses, there's no telling how high his rebound season will go.
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