Lafreniere and Theodore Ink $50 Million-Plus Deals in New NHL Contracts
Both NHL players were born in Canada and were selected in the first round of the draft. However, Alexis Lafreniere of the New York Rangers and Shea Theodore of the Vegas Golden Knights had little in common until this week, when they both agreed to nearly identical seven-year contract extensions.
29-year-old defenseman Theodore signed a new contract with the Vegas Golden Knights, avoiding free agency, with a cap hit of $7.425 million per season or $51.975 million total.
Locking in a deal with Lafrieniere for almost eight years means the Rangers won’t need to be concerned about him becoming an unrestricted free agent until the 2031-32 season when he turns 30. Lafreniere is still young enough to have another opportunity for a major deal in the future – just when the opportunity arises.
Chosen as the top pick in the pandemic draft in October 2020, Lafreniere quickly entered the NHL. He is at the top of his draft class with 305 games played, coming in second with 79 goals behind Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators (94). He is in third place with 155 points, trailing Stutzle (255) and Lucas Raymond from the Detroit Red Wings (180).
Shea Theodore continues to be a misfit.
Following Shea Theodore’s impressive first season in Las Vegas, McPhee signed the Aldergrove, B.C. native to a seven-year contract extension worth $5.2 million per season, covering two UFA years. Having already won a Stanley Cup in 2023, Theodore is currently in his final year on a Vegas team that is once again performing well at the start of the season. His new deal will last until he turns 36, with a complete no-trade clause for the initial five years followed by modified protection in the final two.
If Theodore had chosen to explore free agency in 2025, he would have been among the top blue-line players on the market. Additional defensemen who may become free agents next year are Aaron Ekblad from the Florida Panthers, Ryan Lindgren from the New York Rangers, Neal Pionk from the Winnipeg Jets, Vladislav Gavrikov from the Los Angeles Kings, and Jakob Chychrun from the Washington Capitals.
Will Shesterkin and Miller be next?
Ensuring cost stability is crucial as they work towards finalizing a contract extension with star goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin before he becomes a free agent on July 1, 2025. Since Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported the 28-year-old declined an $88 million deal on Oct. 8, there has been silence surrounding his negotiations.
Rangers GM Chris Drury needs to handle one more crucial contract extension. K’Andre Miller, a 24-year-old defenseman leading the Rangers in ice-time in the first seven games at 22:54 per game, is a soon-to-be restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
He is in queue to receive a notable salary increase from his existing contract, which has a salary cap impact of $3.87 million per year. Miller has just two years left until he reaches unrestricted free agency.
According to PuckPedia, Theodore’s contract brings the Golden Knights’ cap spending to slightly more than $70 million for the 2025-26 season, with only 13 players under contract.
Goalkeepers Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov are both close to becoming UFAs next summer, as is McNabb, who will be turning 34 in January.
At the forefront, the group of upcoming unrestricted free agents consists of Knights veterans Brett Howden and Keegan Kolasar, along with newcomer Victor Olofsson. He scored three goals in his first four games, but had to be placed on the injured list due to an upper-body problem that is causing him to be sidelined on a week-to-week basis.
Image Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
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