Golden Knights Sign All-Time Assist Leader to Contract Extension

The Vegas Golden Knights and Shea Theodore agreed on a contract extension. The 29-year-old defenseman agreed to a seven-year extension with an average annual value of $7.425 million. The Golden Knights got Theodore on a team-friendly contract which will make him just the 28th-highest-paid defenseman in the league. The longtime Golden Knight will remain in Vegas for another seven seasons after having many productive seasons in the gold, gray, and black. Theodore is third all-time in points for the franchise and first among defensemen as well as first all-time in assists.

Anaheim Shipping Theodore Out Led to His Resurgence in Vegas 

Theodore was one of the original members of the Golden Knights, being traded from the Anaheim Ducks, who drafted him 26th overall in 2013, to Vegas before their inaugural season. The Ducks traded the then-21-year-old Theodore to ensure that Vegas selected Clayton Stoner and not unprotected and established defenseman Josh Manson. Since the trade, Manson has scored 28 times and put together 123 points while Theodore has lit the lamp 67 times and compiled 296 points. In hindsight, it’s safe to say that the Anaheim Ducks would have rather kept Theodore considering that the team holds a record of 165-236-60 since 2018-19.

Vegas Keeps Theodore on Team-Friendly Deal

After seven years of playing on only a $5.2 million cap hit, Vegas managed to still keep him on a good deal. His $7.425 AAV contract is still only the fourth-highest value on the team. Also, his deal is second-highest among defensemen, sitting behind Alex Pietrangelo’s $8.8 million AAV and just $100,000 more than Noah Hanifin’s $7.35 million AAV. Surely, Theodore agreed to this deal to try and earn a second Stanley Cup by opening up cap space for a potential move for general manager Kelly McCrimmon to make down the line. Also, it can be argued that Nevada’s state laws on no income tax could’ve influenced his deal much like it did for Jake Oettinger. Oettinger recently agreed on an $8.25 million AAV deal, the same amount that Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, and Linus Ullmark signed to, but because Texas doesn’t have state income tax, he’ll be making more money than those three netminders.