Shea Theodore - Offer sheet candidate?

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

Gavin Lee posted an interesting article (linked below) on the Golden Knights over at prohockeyrumors.com where Shea Thoedore was the focus. This raised an eyebrow when I read it.

"Theodore has shown that he’s too good for the AHL in the early going, scoring seven points in three games—remember, he’s a defenseman—while logging big minutes in all situations. While that makes many fans scratch their head on why he’s not up with the big club, it actually could pay off in the long run.


Theodore is in the final year of his entry-level contract, and will head into offseason negotiations without a full season under his belt. The longer the Golden Knights keep him in the minor leagues while still winning games, the more money they could save in contract talks. While it’s entirely likely that Theodore’s side will end up asking for a short term deal to prove his worth, there is also a very real possibility that if given substantial minutes over the entire 2017-18 season he could have demanded a long-term deal with a big cap hit. The Golden Knights know what his potential is, and right now are betting that he won’t stagnate at all by spending some more time in the minors."

Keeping an NHL caliber player buried in the AHL because you don't want him to build any value in the final year of his ELC has disaster written all over it.

If you were put in Shea Theodore's position, what do you do? Ride it out in the AHL and settle for less money over the term of your next deal? Get pissed off that your GM is actively trying to reduce your future earnings and demand a trade? Sign an offer sheet in the off season for what you believe you're worth?

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2017/10/vegas-golden-knights-roster-maneuvers-paying-off.html

Click to read more...

 

[SenzZen]

And Vegas matches.

 

[ThatGuy22]

It's got nothing to do with not wanting him to earn money on his 2nd contract, Vegas will have a ton of contract.

Theodore and Tuch are the one thing Vegas had absolutely nothing of as an expansion team, and why they were so valuable to them. They are NHL ready and waiver exempt. They were going to end up up in the AHL from the moment vegas acquired them, and it was 100% obvious.

 

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

It's got nothing to do with not wanting him to earn money on his 2nd contract, Vegas will have a ton of contract.

Theodore and Tuch are the one thing Vegas had absolutely nothing of as an expansion team, and why they were so valuable to them. They are NHL ready and waiver exempt. They were going to end up up in the AHL from the moment vegas acquired them, and it was 100% obvious.

From the bit of the article I posted.

"The longer the Golden Knights keep him in the minor leagues while still winning games, the more money they could save in contract talks."


EDIT: It should be noted though that we don't know if this is actually the Golden Knights plan or just Gavin Lee's take on the situation.

 

[ThatGuy22]

From the bit of the article I posted.

"The longer the Golden Knights keep him in the minor leagues while still winning games, the more money they could save in contract talks."


EDIT: It should be noted though that we don't know if this is actually the Golden Knights plan or just Gavin Lee's take on the situation.

Well obviously, the less experience he has and stats the less money he'll make on his next deal. That's just common sense. But implying that's the reason he's in the AHL is non-sense.

They've got like 3 players in their entire organization that have a waiver exemption and can be shuttled back and forth without waivers. It's been obvious since the draft two of those (Tuch and Theodore) would spent significant time in the AHL because of it.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

Because they so rarely happens, I assume with any player that is offer sheet eligible, it will not happen. It's as likely as going to a roulette wheel and betting on double zero. It is just safe to say that any given player will not be offer sheeted, then that rare time it does... "Oh well this almost never happens."

 

[Nurmagomedov]

He an absolutely still improve his overall game in the AHL. Granted, it was only the preseason but from what i saw, his defensive game was not really up to par.

 

[Flukeshot]

Will he even be eligible for an offer sheet coming off his ELC with few games played?

I thought there was a certain amount of GO required.

 

[HanSolo]

He an absolutely still improve his overall game in the AHL. Granted, it was only the preseason but from what i saw, his defensive game was not really up to par.

From what I heard from people who watched him in San Diego, his defensive ability in the AHL was fine. He was expected to come into the NHL as a two way guy.

 

[Soundgarden]

Or maybe he's just one of the few players that is waiver exempt?

 

[Kevin27NYI]

I believe Friedman said offer sheets might become a thing because talent is coming harder to come by and i agree. Eventually a struggling team to come over their goals will have their hands forced by pressure to offer sheet.

Take Garth Snow for example, teams high end potential stagnated because Reinhart, Strome and Dal Colle stink even though they are high picks. Going forward to compensate, if a player like Theodore or perhaps another Pastranak scenario, you might see Garth bite the PR/Relationship bullet to improve the club.

 

[beowulf]

Would not work simply because he won't get enough to make Vegas hesitate about it. He has shown signs of potentially being a strong NHL dman but has bounced up and down in both Anaheim and Vegas because of the numbers game. We won't be seeing him get an offer at a cap hit that would turn Vegas off or matching.

 

[puckpilot]

Any reasonable offersheet will be matched by VG. Any insane offersheet may make the compensation in draft picks worth it to them.

Have offersheets really worked? Teams will match like Nash did with Shea Weber, or the draft picks are worth way more than the player like when Ana let Dustin Penner go. Let's not mention the clown show of when Calgary offeresheeted Ryan O'Rielly.

IMHO, mostly offersheets just serve to piss off other GMs, who end up looking for ways to get even.

 

[Scott Stevens]

Any reasonable offersheet will be matched by VG. Any insane offersheet may make the compensation in draft picks worth it to them.

Have offersheets really worked? Teams will match like Nash did with Shea Weber, or the draft picks are worth way more than the player like when Ana let Dustin Penner go. Let's not mention the clown show of when Calgary offeresheeted Ryan O'Rielly.

IMHO, mostly offersheets just serve to piss off other GMs, who end up looking for ways to get even.

VG?
Vegas Golden?
Ve Gas?

 

[rent free]

vegas will match for sure. he's a guy they're gonna keep

 

[puckpilot]

VG?
Vegas Golden?
Ve Gas?

Virginia Grabbers short for Virginia Golden Grabbers.

Their motto is "Grab a hold of the Virginia gold. If you're rich, they'll never snitch."


Violent Gunmen was the second option, but that's just insensitive and distasteful.

 

[tony d]

To me Theodore's going to be the anchor of that Vegas defense for yrs. to come. If he gets an offer sheet it gets matched immediately.

 

[Sojourn]

From what I heard from people who watched him in San Diego, his defensive ability in the AHL was fine. He was expected to come into the NHL as a two way guy.

As you know(and saw) it was his play in the NHL that needed to improve.

The kid has talent. There is no doubt about it. He just needs to settle down with the puck, and not skate the puck into dangerous areas in the D zone in an attempt to avoid opposing players. Some smarter decisions at the opposing blue line would help too. Basically, I think he needs to simplify some things, and realize that at the NHL level his skill isn't going to set him apart from 99% of the league. The plays he could/can get away with at lower levels aren't always going to work.

He definitely has the chops to be a two-way guy, but with good positional play, and an active stick.

 

[biotk]

If I were Vegas I would call this kid back up and just give him the freedom to be creative in the NHL. His defensive lapses shouldn't mean as much to Vegas as they would to the Ducks. Yes, I understand that Vegas is keeping him in the A because they don't want to lose some of their D on waivers, but I don't think they are ever going to get a return for those D in a trade.

 

[HanSolo]

As you know(and saw) it was his play in the NHL that needed to improve.

The kid has talent. There is no doubt about it. He just needs to settle down with the puck, and not skate the puck into dangerous areas in the D zone in an attempt to avoid opposing players. Some smarter decisions at the opposing blue line would help too. Basically, I think he needs to simplify some things, and realize that at the NHL level his skill isn't going to set him apart from 99% of the league. The plays he could/can get away with at lower levels aren't always going to work.

He definitely has the chops to be a two-way guy, but with good positional play, and an active stick.

His puck possession and distribution is a lot better. I would feel no qualms saying he was Vegas' best puck mover by far during preseason.

His talent is pretty much wasted in the AHL.

 

[Esq]

Hard to take an offer sheet prediction seriously when we've literally had 12 signed in the last 20 years.

 

[LeafFever]

I think Hailey's comet will be here sooner than we see another offer sheet. Why are these even discussed?

 

[Sojourn]

His puck possession and distribution is a lot better. I would feel no qualms saying he was Vegas' best puck mover by far during preseason.

His talent is pretty much wasted in the AHL.

Yeah, I don't think he'd be able to improve those areas in the AHL. He'd be able to compensate for those weaknesses with pure skill, and I think he probably needs to be challenged. That's going to happen in the NHL. He's going to be an excellent player for Vegas for a while. That's my feeling, anyway.

 

[HanSolo]

Yeah, I don't think he'd be able to improve those areas in the AHL. He'd be able to compensate for those weaknesses with pure skill, and I think he probably needs to be challenged. That's going to happen in the NHL. He's going to be an excellent player for Vegas for a while. That's my feeling, anyway.

He's gonna have to be. Outside of Brannstrom there's no one in Vegas with #1 defenseman upside. Miller and Schmidt are good but are #3 guys at best.

 

[jetsforever]

Do you really want to take away one of Vegas' only good players?