Shea Theodore leveling up to elite this postseason for Golden Knights

By Justin Emerson

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Mark Stone said it after Game 4, almost in passing, but it wasn’t going to go unnoticed. He was talking about the defense as a whole, but the focus zeroed in on his comments about one player.

“I think Shea Theodore is obviously turning into a Norris-caliber defenseman,” Stone said. “He makes big plays for us offensively.”

Theodore? Norris Trophy? That will pique some interest.

Later, Theodore was asked about it and responded with the kind of self-deflection that is typical of hockey players. As he left the podium, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury decided to chide him a little bit.

“That question, I liked it for you, about the Norris,” Fleury chuckled. “You deserve it.”

The Norris Trophy goes to the top NHL defenseman each season, one of the top awards in the sport. That Theodore is so highly thought of within the organization is one thing. As the Golden Knights look to eliminate the Canucks in Game 5 at 6:45 p.m., he'll get another chance to show his play this postseason is evidence it might not just be talk.

“I think he’s in that conversation this year,” Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. “And I think he’s for sure going to be in that conversation next year and for years to come.”

Theodore is using this postseason as his personal coming-out party to the hockey world, turning in a performance that elevates a player’s reputation from good to elite. He did have eight points in last year’s first round against the Sharks, but since the Golden Knights only lasted one round, there was less time for the sport to take notice.

That’s not an issue this time. Through 12 postseason games, Theodore is tied for the NHL lead among defensemen in goals (4), second in points (14) and leads in shots on goal (49). Through four games of the second round he has seven points, all assists.

“In all of athletics, your performance drives through your confidence, and I think you can just see his confidence start to grow over the past couple years,” defenseman Jon Merrill said. “He’s firing on all cylinders right now and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”

It’s not just the obvious numbers either. He’s been a favorite of the analytics for years, and those numbers have gone from great to staggering. He leads all NHL defensemen with at least 100 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 with a 68.0 on-ice expected-goals percentage and Vegas has generated 71 high-danger scoring chances with him on the ice, best among all skaters, according to Natural Stat Trick. For comparison, his linemate Alec Martinez is second in that stat with 56 chances created.

Theodore has driven the offense on the Golden Knights, and he’s been on the ice for 19 of Vegas’ 33 even-strength goals this postseason, and has only been on the ice for six against.

Theodore has always been a gifted offensive talent, but the difference in his game this year has been play in his own end. Vegas is a such a strong possession team that it doesn’t spend much time in the defensive zone, particularly this postseason, but much of that is due to Theodore, and what DeBoer called “defend(ing) from the offensive zone.”

What he means by that is even as the Golden Knights are on the attack, he helps to prevent breakouts and keep the puck deep in the zone. Basically, the best defense is a good offense, and Theodore is doing it better this offseason than he ever has, or any Vegas defenseman over the past three years.

“I can’t speak from before because I’ve only had him since I took the job (in January) and since I took the job from Day 1, for me, what I’ve seen is an elite defenseman,” DeBoer said. “From the day I took over he’s been at this level.”

It’s worth pointing out that Theodore has excelled against the Blackhawks and Canucks, two teams that ranked in the bottom-10 in possession numbers this season. Chicago was 23rd in the NHL in points percentage when the season restarted, and Vancouver was 17th, so it’s not like Theodore and the Golden Knights are locking down elite teams.

It’s also worth pointing out that DeBoer knows what a Norris winner looks like, even if he’s naturally going to say nice things about his own player. As recently as December he was coaching Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns with the Sharks, who have three trophies between them, and Burns’ came with DeBoer as coach. When DeBoer arrived with the Golden Knights he compared Theodore favorably to those two defensemen, and that hasn’t stopped almost eight months later.

Theodore wasn’t one of three finalists for the Norris trophy this year and would be lucky to end up on anyone’s ballot this season. He may never win it all with the number of skilled young defensemen coming of age in the NHL to go along with this year’s crop of finalists, which don’t appear to be going anywhere.

That’s not the point, though, and there’s no shame in not winning the position’s most exclusive award. He doesn’t need a Norris victory to validate him as a foundational piece on the Vegas blue line. But what Theodore is doing this postseason is helping the Golden Knights toward the ultimate team goal of a Stanley Cup.

And someday, he may see some attention for individual hardware come his way, too.

Series: Golden Knights lead 3-1

TV: NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 220, Cox 38, CenturyLink 640)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-240, Canucks plus-190; over/under: 6 (minus-110, minus-110)

Golden Knights (10-2, Western Conference No. 1 seed)

Previous round: Defeated Chicago in first round, 4-1

Coach: Peter DeBoer (first season)

Points leaders: Shea Theodore (14)

Goals leaders: Alex Tuch (7)

Assists leaders: Shea Theodore (10)

Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (2.08 GAA, .921 save percentage)

Canucks (8-6, Western Conference No. 7 seed)

Previous round: Defeated St. Louis in first round, 4-2

Coach: Travis Green (third season)

Points leaders: Elias Pettersson (17)

Goals leader: Bo Horvat (9)

Assists leaders: Quinn Hughes (12)

Expected goalie: Jacob Markstrom (2.85 GAA, .919 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—William Karlsson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—Paul Stastny—Reilly Smith

Nick Cousins—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Chandler Stephenson—Ryan Reaves

Defensemen

Brayden McNabb—Nate Schmidt

Alec Martinez—Shea Theodore

Nick Holden—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury