Shea Theodore Injury: What happened to Team Canada's defenseman?

Shea Theodore left Wednesday’s game against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off with an upper-body injury. He was injured early in the second period after a hit from Adrian Kempe. Theodore appeared to jam his shoulder into the boards and held his right hand as he left the ice. Canada’s medical staff checked on him before he skated to the locker room.

Before leaving, Shea Theodore played 6:59 across nine shifts. He was paired with Drew Doughty on Canada’s third defensive pairing. At the start of the third period, the team ruled him out for the rest of the game. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Theodore won't return.

HC Jon Cooper said after the game Shea Theodore has been ruled out for the rest of the 4 Nations-Face Off 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," Friedman tweeted.

In a follow-up tweet, Friedman mentioned that teams cannot replace injured players unless their roster falls below 18 skaters.

"Something to add here … teams have to be under 18 healthy skaters to add replacements. So it would take more injuries — which no one needs to see," Friedman tweeted.

Travis Sanheim is expected to replace Theodore on the blueline. Sanheim was a healthy scratch against Sweden. Losing Theodore could affect Canada’s defense, as he has been key for the Vegas Golden Knights this season, with seven goals and a career-high 41 assists in 55 games.

Shea Theodore signed a seven-year, $51.975 million contract with Vegas in October 2024. His new deal has a $7.425 million annual value. It starts next season. He's now in the last year of a seven-year, $36.4 million, contract signed in 2018.

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Despite Shea Theodore's injury Team Canada secured a 4-3 overtime win against Sweden

Team Canada won 4-3 in overtime against Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off opener. Canada outshot Sweden 28-26 and won 57.4% of faceoffs.

Nathan MacKinnon scored first on a power play, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid. Brad Marchand made it 2-0 with help from Brayden Point and Seth Jarvis.

In the second period, Jonas Brodin scored for Sweden, assisted by Victor Hedman and Lucas Raymond. Canada responded through Mark Stone, who made it 3-1, assisted by Crosby.

Adrian Kempe scored with assists from Erik Karlsson and Mattias Ekholm to cut the deficit to 3-2 before Sweden tied the game in the third period with Joel Eriksson Ek's goal, with help from Jesper Bratt and Raymond.

In overtime, though, Mitch Marner scored the game-winner at 6:06 for Canada, assisted by Crosby.