Golden Knights ink Theodore to 7-year contract

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed restricted free-agent defenseman Shea Theodore to a seven-year contract worth an average annual value of $5.2 million, the team announced.

Shea Theodore's 7-yr contract is a flat $5.2 M salary per season, no fluctuation. No signing bonuses. Includes a 5-team no-trade clause in the last 2 yrs of the contract

- Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 25, 2018

The agreement ends a protracted saga that saw the 23-year-old miss the start of training camp while the sides negotiated this new deal. It's not immediately clear when he'll arrive in camp, or whether he'll be able to play in the Golden Knights' next preseason contest Friday against the Kings.

Selected by Vegas from the Anaheim Ducks in last year's expansion draft, Theodore emerged as a critical piece of the Golden Knights' core during their remarkable run to the Stanley Cup Finals. In 61 regular-season games last year, the former first-round pick tallied six goals and 29 points while averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time. He added another 10 points in 20 playoff games.

Vegas opens its regular season Oct. 4 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

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