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Canada defenseman Shea Theodore will be sidelined for the rest of the 4 Nations Face-Off after suffering an upper-body injury in Wednesday night’s overtime win over Sweden, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters postgame, via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
The Golden Knights blue-liner hit the boards awkwardly while being hit by Adrian Kempe early in the second period. He skated off under his own power and appeared to favor his right arm/shoulder area. During the game, TNT’s Jackie Redmond relayed that Theodore was already undergoing X-rays as part of his initial evaluation.
Unfortunately for the 29-year-old, his second appearance for the Canadian men’s national team ends after nine shifts and 6:59 of ice time. Canada cannot immediately replace Theodore on its roster – it can only add replacements if fewer than 18 healthy skaters are available for a game. Travis Sanheim was scratched as their extra defenseman against Sweden but will make his tournament debut on Saturday against the United States.
It’s a tough break for the 6’2″ lefty, who’s produced at an elite clip for Vegas since the turn of the decade but has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons. He hasn’t played more than 60 regular-season games in a single campaign since 2021-22. He was on track to play in all but one regular season game this year after missing a game due to illness back in October, but his availability for Vegas coming out of the two-week break in the schedule is now uncertain.
Theodore wasn’t going to be a top power-play option for Canada – it has Cale Makar and Josh Morrissey to quarterback its two units. But he was arguably its best puck-mover and most offensively gifted blue-liner behind those two, and a much lower-ceiling option in Sanheim now has to fill his minutes.
Vegas is far more concerned about Theodore missing time than the national side, though. He’s inarguably been its top defenseman this season, leading the club’s blue-liners in goals (seven), assists (41), points (48), shot attempts (282), takeaways (27), expected rating (+9.5), and CF% at even strength (52.1). For a team that entered the break on a 5-8-3 skid, that’s tough news.
Theodore’s lone previous appearance for the Canadian men’s national team came in 2019 when he recorded 2-5–7 with a plus-nine rating in 10 games en route to a silver medal at the World Championship. He also suited up for Canada at the 2013 U18 Worlds and the 2015 World Juniors.
More must-reads:
- Senators still looking to add despite lack of cap space, assets
- Five storylines to follow at NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off
- Can you name every player selected in the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft?
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Is Kirill Kaprizov worth a record-setting contract?
All signs point to the Minnesota Wild signing All-Star winger Kirill Kaprizov to a massive extension this summer. Recent reports suggest that the Wild will likely sign Kaprizov to an eight-year, $120M contract. This deal would surpass Leon Draisaitl’s contract for the league’s highest average annual value (AAV). Still, it would fall $4M short of Alex Ovechkin’s record for the largest contract ever signed in the NHL. This raises the question: Is Kaprizov worth such a significant investment? Unfortunately, Kaprizov is coming off the worst season of his career thanks to injuries. He finished the campaign with 41 games played in the regular season, and another six in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. Although he missed half the season, he scored 25 goals in 56 games, finishing third on the team in scoring and 16th in Hart Memorial Trophy voting. Finishing that high in team-scoring for a playoff team while losing half the year to injuries is a testament to Kaprizov’s value. Since joining Minnesota for the 2020-21 NHL season, he’s scored 185 goals and 386 points in 319 games, far and away the highest on the team over that stretch. Kaprizov’s contract demands ultimately come down to one equation. Assuming he’s signed to the $15M figure, Minnesota must ask if he’s worth 14.4% of their cap for the 2026-27 season, and even less throughout the subsequent years. It’s a fairly easy equation to sort through. Over the past five years, Kaprizov has been directly involved in 386 goals scored by the Wild. To understand his impact, we can analyze his point contribution to the total number of goals the entire team has scored during that period. Since Kaprizov began his career, Minnesota has scored 1,197 goals. Factoring in Kaprizov’s contributions, it’s easy to ascertain he’s been involved in 32.2% of the Wild’s goals, despite missing many games due to injuries. Given that he’s accounted for one-third of the team’s offense since coming into the league, it seems like an easy investment to make for the Wild. Unfortunately, his injuries are cause for concern, and they could become an issue throughout negotiations when agreeing to a final dollar amount. Regardless, the good news is that Minnesota appears to realize exactly what they have in Kaprizov. Their only pathway to contention runs through him, and they’re seemingly ready to recognize him financially for that. His hypothetical $15M AAV won’t last long as the league’s highest, with Connor McDavid prepared to earn more on his next contract with the Edmonton Oilers, or elsewhere. Still, although it’s not commonplace to make wingers some of the league’s highest-paid, Kaprizov is worth every penny.
'Agreement in Place' - Journalist Provides Key Update on Sunderland’s New Striker Transfer
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie confirmed that Sunderland's deal to sign Chelsea striker Marc Guiu on loan remains on track, despite doubts. Yesterday, the mentioned reporter stated that although the flight Guiu (19) was scheduled to take got postponed, the agreement for his arrival at the Stadium of Light remains valid. It was evident that with no recent updates, the press and fans would start doubting the Catalan's arrival at the club, but apparently everything is in order. The FC Barcelona academy graduate has high chances of becoming Sunderland's ninth signing this summer. Journalist provides key update on Sunderland's new striker transfer On Saturday, Downie had reported the following: "Marc Guiu will fly into the North East this afternoon to complete his move to Sunderland. 19yo striker will undergo a medical in the next 24 hours." "SAFC have agreed a season-long loan with PL counterparts Chelsea," added the journalist via his Twitter (X) account. And yesterday, Sunday, the Sky Sports reporter updated: "Little update on this: Guiu's flight was postponed today, but doesn't mean the deal is dead." "Agreement still in place and an expectation that the striker will finalise his move to Sunderland on loan for the season." Therefore, we can expect more concrete updates about Guiu's signing with the Black Cats in the coming hours. We'll see. What is certain is that Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris is frustrated with the club's transfer activity, according to the same cited journalist. Apparently, the Lads are expected to add three or four more players to their squad, with attack being one of the priority areas to strengthen. In recent hours, Sunderland have been linked with a couple of forwards, such as Galatasaray's Baris Alper Yilmaz (25) or Leverkusen's Amine Adli (25). We'll see how many of them ultimately embark on the adventure of keeping the club in the Premier League. Read More:
The cold, hard truth is that the Washington Commanders have all of the leverage in the Terry McLaurin contract standoff
The saga between the Washington Commanders and All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin has taken many twists and turns, and it's slowly gotten worse as the summer drags on. McLaurin has been the only side of the negotiations to make any type of move to push leverage and get a deal done sooner rather than later. He's done everything possible from publicly speaking out against the team, sitting out of training camp, returning to camp, and then recently made his biggest power move by requesting a trade. Even after playing every card in his hand this offseason to get leverage on the team, the Commanders still have the upper hand on McLaurin, and absolutely nothing can change that. Why McLaurin won't be traded There have been reports that teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers have called to check in on trading for McLaurin, and that shouldn't be a surprise. The thing is, though, he will not be traded, and there are a lot of factors that prohibit it from happening. McLaurin is likely worth a second-round pick, in my opinion, but the fact that he allegedly wants a contract extension that averages to about $33 million per year hurts that trade value. No team in the NFL would trade a second round pick while giving a soon to be 30 yeard old WR a new contract worth that much. The Commanders very likely wouldn't receive a trade package worth accepting for their best weapon on offense and get the immediate payoff this season. McLaurin very likely doesn't want to even be traded in the first place. Neither side actually wants McLaurin out of Washington. The likely outcomes for McLaurin and the Commanders There are only two possible outcomes for McLaurin this season: he's either going to be extended, or he's going to have to play the final year of his contract out. The Commanders really could play hardball with McLaurin if he refuses to come down from his number and let him play his final year of his contract out, and they know he wouldn't sit out games and lose even more money. They could either franchise tag McLaurin after the season or let him leave in free agency, so they can recoup a high-value compensation pick for losing the All-Pro. McLaurin's market would likely change drastically unless he has another career-best season, as he would be approaching 31 years old going into free agency. Both outcomes severely hurt what McLaurin is looking for: more money and long-term stability. No matter what McLaurin does, the Commanders hold the keys to decide his fate in Washington. The two can meet in the middle on a number that makes sense, or this could drag into next season, where we do this all again.
Triple H provides statement on Seth Rollins' SummerSlam appearance
Night one of SummerSlam 2026 ended with a bang. Seth Rollins came back from what now appears to have been a fake injury, cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase against CM Punk. The WWE fanbase had long postulated the idea of Rollins returning at SummerSlam. His return felt like low-hanging fruit. Yet, despite the expectations, both Punk and Rollins played the situation perfectly. Now, as we head into night two of SummerSlam, there is a new World Heavyweight Champion in town. When speaking at the SummerSlam post-show, Paul "Triple H" Levesque admitted, albeit in kayfabe, that he wasn't pleased with Rollins falsifying injury reports to get the upper hand on Punk. "Seth Rollins is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers," Levesque said. "And he comes out, goes through none of it and takes the World Heavyweight Championship. My hats off to Seth Rollins. That’s a smart way to do business. Not thrilled about bogus medical reports, but we’ll deal with that down the line." Not everyone will be happy with Rollins becoming the new champion. They will feel like Punk was robbed. Or that WWE creative took the easiest route possible. And in truth, they're probably right. However, sometimes the best way to progress a story is to go with the most obvious segue. The fact is, everyone came away from the SummerSlam main event with some form of emotion. The story being told worked; it made people feel. And now, the storyline moves on to how Punk and Rollins — two heated rivals — will move forward. A future title match is all but guaranteed, yet it's the story, week after week, month after month, that will captivate people. WWE used SummerSlam as a jumping-off point, and now, we could see the very best of CM Punk, likely culminating in a main-event title match at WrestleMania 42. So, yes, Rollins' win was a deflating moment for many, but what comes from that moment will keep wrestling fans talking for the next six to 12 months, and that was likely the whole point.
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