Hannah Kirkell
The 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament has gotten off to a bad start for the Vegas Golden Knights. Mark Stone and Shea Theodore were in action tonight for Team Canada against Team Sweden. Theodore left the game early in the 2nd period after taking this clean hit from Swedish forward Adrian Kempe.
Shea Theodore goes to the Canada locker room after a collision with Adrian Kempe pic.twitter.com/nXjUlX8QdM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 13, 2025
The Swedes fell behind early in the game, so they’ve increased their physicality. Theodore went to play the puck, and Kempe threw the hit. It appeared like Theodore was trying to catch himself as he fell forward to prevent his head from hitting the boards. I’m no doctor, but it sure looks like he jammed his right wrist while bracing for the hit.
Theodore appeared to be in some discomfort on the bench, and trainers looked at and worked on his arm. He eventually went down the tunnel and to the dressing room. According to TNT’s Jackie Redmond, Theodore went into the X-ray room for evaluation.
UPDATE: Per Elliotte Friedman, Theodore will not return to tonight’s game. It is past the window for teams to add players; if Theodore is out for longer than tonight’s game, Team Canada cannot replace him on their roster.
FINAL UPDATE: Jon Cooper, head coach of Team Canada, says Shea Theodore is out for the remainder of the tournament.
Shea Theodore will not return.
Teams cannot add players now. So, if he’s out longer than this game (hopefully not), he cannot be replaced.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 13, 2025
Losing Theodore for any amount of time would be devastating for the Golden Knights. He’s third on the team in scoring and second on the team in ice time. Theodore quarterbacks the first power play unit, which is tied for 2nd in the league at 28%.
This tournament hasn’t lacked physicality thus far. So, for anyone worried that there wouldn’t be hard hits… don’t.
