There are only four players remaining on the Vegas Golden Knights roster from their inaugural season in the NHL, and they made sure that one of them is going to remain with the team for the foreseeable future.
The Golden Knights announced that they have signed defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract extension that will pay him $7.425 million per season.
It is a significant contract for a couple of reasons.
Theodore is one of Vegas’ best players and one of its top defensemen. He has been with the organization from day one and was part of the initial expansion draft process, coming over from the Anaheim Ducks.
The defenseman immediately made an impact on Vegas’ defense and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final in its first season as it become an instant contender. During the team’s Stanley Cup-winning season in 2023 he played over 20 minutes per game in the playoffs on the team’s top defense pairing, scoring one goal with 12 assists during the playoffs.
Along with playing a steady defensive game, Theodore is also one of the most productive defensemen in the NHL. Since joining Vegas at the start of the 2017-18 season his 296 points are 16th in the NHL among defensemen, while his 0.66 point per game average is 15th in the NHL among that group.
His extension also significantly weakens this summer’s potential free-agent class as Theodore was likely to be one of the top defenders available had he gone to the open market.
Vegas has never been afraid to spend to the upper limits of the NHL salary cap and will always sign big contracts and worry about the potential ramifications later. This is the latest example of that and they now have their top-three defenders locked into long-term deals with Theodore, Noah Hanifin and Alex Pietrangelo all signed for more than $7 million per season.
Along with Theodore, William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb and Zach Whitecloud are the remaining players from Vegas’ initial 2017-18 roster.
