The Vegas Golden Knights are keeping one of their most important pending unrestricted free agents for the long haul. The team announced they have signed defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract extension worth a total of $51.975MM.
Theodore is one of three original members of the Golden Knights organization and this extension will keep him with the team through the 2031-32 NHL season. He was projected to become one of the most sought-after defensemen in free agency next offseason making this extension somewhat of a hometown discount. Evolving-Hockey projected Theodore to land an eight-year extension worth just over $9MM a season meaning the Golden Knights will get him for $1.5MM cheaper with the salary cap continuing to rise.
Part of the lower-than-expected price tag may be due to Theodore’s availability over the last several years. The former 26th overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft only managed 180 regular season games for Vegas from 2021 to the end of last season losing over a quarter of the games due to various injuries. Should his injury history continue into this contract it could mark one of the riskier extensions of the last year.
Despite the absence due to injuries over the last few years, there is credibility for the Golden Knights making Theodore their second-highest-paid defenseman. He’s arguably been Vegas’ best offensive weapon from the blue line over his eight-year tenure scoring 67 goals and 296 points in 450 games with 88 of those points from the powerplay.
He hasn’t been a slouch on the other side of the puck, either. Theodore has posted an impressive 58.8% CorsiFor% and 91.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations throughout his time in Sin City with an E +/- of 78.4 according to Hockey Reference. There’s an argument to be made that much of Theodore’s success in the possession metrics comes from his 63.2% offensive zone start rate but it wouldn’t excuse all of it from a defenseman that’s averaged nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game.
Starting next season, the Golden Knights will have $23.575MM wrapped into three defensemen at the top of their lineup. This may prohibit the organization from retaining other pending unrestricted and restricted free agents currently on the roster but it’s par for the course from one of the league’s most aggressive franchises.