Canada’s Shea Theodore out for rest of 4 Nations Face-Off with injury; out week-to-week

We have our first casualty of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Canada defenseman Shea Theodore had to leave the opening game of the tournament against Sweden due to an injury.

After the game, coach Jon Cooper said Theodore would miss the rest of the tournament, with the Golden Knights later saying he will be out week-to-week.

Early in the second period, Theodore was making a play to keep the puck in the offensive zone. He received a check from Sweden forward Adrian Kempe along the sideboards, which led to Theodore’s right arm getting awkwardly smushed into the glass.

After being briefly evaluated on the bench, Theodore went down the tunnel. NHL on TNT rinkside reporter Jackie Redmond stated on the American broadcast that Theodore received x-rays on his right wrist, which looked pretty swollen, according to Redmond.

Theodore played just 6:59 of ice time across nine shifts in the game.

Canada is not allowed to add any players to the current 20-man roster, as per rules of the tournament.

This was Theodore’s first bit of international duty with Canada since the 2019 IIHF Men’s World Championship, in which the Canadians took home the silver medal. He’s won gold for his country in the the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 2013 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship and the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

Another upper-body injury doesn’t bode well for the Vegas Golden Knight. Last season, the 29-year-old had to miss almost three months after undergoing surgery for an upper-body injury, limiting him to just 47 games. Theodore also missed time during the 2022-23 campaign, in which the Langley, British Columbia native saw only 55 games.

Theodore has only missed one game so far this season with the Golden Knights, leading the team in scoring among defensemen with 48 points in 55 games.

Canada is set to face the United States on Saturday before taking on Finland next Monday in the final game of the round-robin.