Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore was named one of the five most underappreciated defensemen in the NHL according to Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News.
The Golden Knights’ 29-year-old franchise leader in games, goals, assists and points by a defenseman was traded from the Anaheim Ducks before the expansion draft after two seasons with the team. With each passing season, Theodore became more confident and began to increase his output. Now he’s set career highs of 14 goals and 52 points.
Last season he dealt with a major injury that allowed him to get into 47 games but in that time, Theodore recorded stellar offensive numbers. His five goals and 42 points led him to record his highest point-per-game season of his career.
Despite that, Theodore’s future with the Golden Knights had been put into questioning after the team acquired and then extended Noah Hanifin.
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With his future in the air with the Golden Knights, it’s important to still understand how good Theodore still is and Stoller explains that in his article.
“Shea Theodore probably wouldn’t be on this list if he hadn’t missed 62 games in the last two seasons due to injury. He’s produced at such a good clip for so long that one ought to think he’d be atop the scoring leaderboards if he remained healthy. Since the 2020-21 season, Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Erik Karlsson and Devon Toews are the only defensemen to score more even-strength points per game than Theodore’s 0.54. Yet, he wasn’t named an all-star, and his highest finish in Norris Trophy voting in the last four years was a sixth-place finish in 2020-21 and 2019-20. Then again, Theodore isn’t the guy for Vegas, and even when he’s on his A-game, he’s overshadowed by either Alex Pietrangelo or the team’s stars up front — Jack Eichel and Mark Stone. Few in the game possess Theodore’s combination of size, smooth skating and game-breaking passing ability. He’s not the best 1-on-1 defender — although that’s not to say he can’t handle tough matchups — but he’s the perfect complement to a more defensive defenseman, such as Brayden McNabb or Pietrangelo. “
The 2024-25 season will be a challenge for Theodore. He’ll not only have to deal with the effects of Hanifin’s arrival but he’ll be doing this all in a contract year, an especially critical contract year at his age. Less power play time and less ice time with the Golden Knights’ star players will put him in a situation he hasn’t been in since joining the franchise.
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