Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy announced that defenseman Shea Theodore will miss Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes due to an upper-body injury.
Shea Theodore is out tonight with an upper body injury, according to Bruce Cassidy.
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) November 25, 2023
Alec Martinez is also out, Cassidy said he’s day to day but isn’t sure how long he’ll ultimately be out.
It’s unclear as to what caused the injury, as Theodore, 28, played all of their previous game on Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, including the first shift of overtime. It’s likely that either he played through the injury on Wednesday, or the injury occurred before Saturday’s game. It doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue for the defenseman though, and will likely just be handled on a day-to-day basis.
Theodore has had an excellent start to the season, with four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 20 games, a 73-point pace that would significantly surpass his previous career high of 52 points in the 2021-22 season. He’s one of the best defensemen in the league at driving offense, with a 3.01 5v5 expected goals for per 60 that ranks fifth among defensemen with at least 3500 of ice time since 2021.
Theodore was a former 26th overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2013 NHL Draft, and spent two seasons with the Ducks before he was traded to the Golden Knights in exchange for Vegas claiming Clayton Stoner’s contract at the expansion draft. He’s since played in all seven seasons of the Golden Knights’ franchise history, and won a Stanley Cup with them in 2023.
Theodore is currently in the sixth year of a seven-year contract with a $5.2 million cap hit, one he signed with Vegas as a restricted free agent after their run to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2017-18 season.
The Golden Knights are already dealing with injuries on the blueline, as Alec Martinez missed Wednesday’s game against the Stars, and will miss Saturday’s game against the Coyotes as well. While the Golden Knights’ lineup is currently unknown for the game against the Coyotes, it’s expected that Brayden Pachal will enter the lineup in place of Theodore. Pachal currently has one goal in 12 games this season.
The Golden Knights snapped a stretch of three losses in four games before Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Stars, and will look to build on that against the Coyotes on Saturday, which starts at 10 p.m. EST. Vegas entered Saturday in second place in the NHL with a 14-4-2 record.