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What Shea Theodore injury means for the Golden Knights

Originally posted on Dice City Sports | By Derek Hegna | Last updated Feb 13, 2025 5:27 PM ET

Team Canada won the opening matchup of the 4 Nations Face-Off, but the Vegas Golden Knights came away as the big loser.

Early in the second period, defenseman Shea Theodore took a hit from Sweden and Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe. Immediately after, Theodore clutched his wrist and went down the tunnel to get checked out. He did not return for the remainder of the game.

Not only has Theodore been confirmed out for the rest of the tournament, but the Golden Knights confirmed on X that his injury will have him miss some more time.

Shea Theodore is expected to be out week-to-week due to the upper-body injury he sustained at the 4Nations Face-Off.

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 13, 2025

It is a massive blow to the Golden Knights, who were hoping to use the momentum of the last two games against New Jersey and Boston to come out flying after the break. Instead, they have now lost their best puck-moving blueline for an extended period of time.

How Theodore’s injury affects the Golden Knights going forward

The main issue with Theodore being out long-term is with the power play.

As quarterback of the top power-play unit, Theodore has picked up two goals and 17 points when the Golden Knights hold the man advantage. It has lead to Vegas boasting the second-best power play in the NHL, operating at a 28% success rate. With Theodore now out, players like Noah Hanifin will slot into his spot, while others such as forwards Tomas Hertl and Jack Eichel will carry the top unit for the time being.

While Theodore has yet to be given the long-term injured reserve designation, the jokes from opposing fans have already started to file in.

With forward William Karlsson already placed on LTIR, Theodore being moved there would give the Golden Knights a little over $11 million in extra cap space to work with. General manager Kelly McCrimmon is known across the league for his aggressive mindset around the trade deadline, and he now has more resources to improve the Golden Knights. Insiders have already linked the team to the likes of St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn, and more connections will likely come if Theodore does receive the LTIR designation.

That said, Theodore’s role as a right-shot defenseman is difficult to replace. The options available to the Golden Knights are either attached to massive contracts (Pittsburgh Penguins’ Erik Karlsson, Chicago Blackhawks’ Seth Jones) or do not truly replace Theodore in the short term (Philadelphia Flyers’ Rasmus Ristolainen). The most likely course of action would either be to acquire a player who can slot in elsewhere in the lineup later, or add a depth defenseman to another deal to keep things afloat.

The challenge for the Golden Knights to reclaim the top spot in the Pacific Division just became a lot more difficult.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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