Shea Theodore has been a fantastic defenceman since coming to the Vegas Golden Knights for their inaugural season. Including his time with the Anaheim Ducks, Theodore has 235 assists and 306 points through 497 career NHL regular season games. Moreover, he was one of the few bright spots on the Golden Knights blueline last season. He’s a player that one can absolutely see with their own statue outside the Fortress a decade from now. But an article from Sports Illustrated over the weekend brought up once again the elephant in the room for the Golden Knights, their salary cap situation.

Shea Theodore and the Vegas Golden Knights Cap Situation

Vegas is currently $3.25 million over the cap, with eight players (five UFA, three RFA) set to drop into free agency next season. They include players like Brendan Brisson and Alexander Holtz who are highly likely to be integral pieces for the Golden Knights for years to come. That’s a recipe for a tough but necessary exit. One example you may recall would be Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames after the Colorado Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup. This all begs the question, if this comes to pass, where might Shea Theodore land?

Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s a basic start. But there’s also a lot of truth that merits starting with the Buds. For starters, there is a perfect target that checks off many boxes for Vegas, Jake McCabe. On the ice last season, he had career bests in goals (eight) and assists (20). He also registered over 200 hits and over 100 blocked shots. Brayden McNabb was the only Golden Knight defenceman who came close, albeit it was in reverse (207 blocks, 149 hits). That’s not a bad arrow to have in the quiver come April and May.

Also, the trade would all but torch the budgetary worries for another season. Then McCabe would become a UFA, but that’s tomorrow’s migraine.

Florida Panthers

Now, putting the defending Stanley Cup champions on this list may look to many like a bit of reach. Especially given that they have as many first round picks (zero) next season as the Golden Knights. But with Brandon Montour now a Seattle Kraken, there’s a feasible argument to be made that they might make a run at Theodore to boost their chances at a repeat. There are a couple of options who could make good fits coming back to Vegas in a potential trade deal.

There’s former Golden Knight Nate Schmidt who has been a solid defenceman throughout his career. There’s a question whether he’s top-four calibre at this point, though adding in a blue chip prospect like Vladislav Lukashevich could fix any imbalance in a potential deal. And there’s Niko Mikkola who has a similar kind of grittiness who could prove helpful against your Brock Boeser or Zach Hyman type of attackers.

The Utah Hockey Club as a Potential Landing Spot for Vegas’ Shea Theodore

Nearly $10 million in projected space. An owner, Ryan Smith, that on the 2024 Draft day proved is willing to go big. Also, they have a defence corps that is lacking bodies. Needless to say, there are a lot of reasons to think a deal with Utah could work well. Sean Durzi is the name that immediately springs to mind for fans, for understandable reasons. A defenceman with scoring touch and the skill to block any shot near him is highly valuable in today’s league. But for the Golden Knights, it’d amount to using Duct tape to plug a leaky dam.

A better target would be Michael Kesselring. He brings the kind of blend of good offence and grit that represents the VGK blueline at its best. All at a $1.4 million Cap hit that, along with another move or two, could leave enough wiggle room to aim for someone like Lucas Raymond to reinforce the scoring punch on the top-six. There are some team-specific worries that he’s never scored a goal in the playoffs at the junior and AHL level. But the Stanley Cup playoffs are a different beast. One that easily turns thought experiments like these into gold or…guh in a heartbeat.