Devon Toews' hot streak continues with new contract

It’s good to be Devon Toews these days.

In the last three months, he’s competed for the New York Islanders in the eastern conference finals, gotten married, gotten traded to a different Stanley Cup contender on his honeymoon and then finished off his run by securing financial security for himself and his new family when he agreed to a four-year deal that will pay him $16.4M, or $4.1M annually.

For a 26-year-old who wasn’t even a full-time NHL player two years ago, that’s the kind of hot streak you dream about coming true one day. For Toews, that day was today.

“The run we had on Long Island here was incredible, it was something I am so happy I was a part of,” Toews said. “The whirlwind after to turn around and get married in two weeks after that was just kind of a wild time, but my wife did so well setting everything up, her parents were great in helping her with everything as well. Then, two days after that was the crazy news of being traded and trying to have to deal with the emotional side of things.

Toews, who racked up 116 games played the last two years for the Islanders, went out of his way to be complimentary of the organization that drafted and developed him into the player he has become today.

“There’s definitely an emotional side to (the trade), with all the relationships and friends and stuff we’ve made,” Toews said. “We’re so grateful to the Islanders what they’ve done for us. We’re also so grateful for everything we’re going to have in Colorado (with) them trading for me and giving me a chance there.”

Upon hearing news of the trade to the Avalanche, Toews was quickly in contact with recent former Avs and Islander teammates last year Derick Brassard and Semyon Varlamov. Both expressed positivity about their time in Denver and specifically said he was headed to a great situation with the Avalanche.

The situation Toews finds himself in now is one with financial security and a contract that keeps him in Colorado for the next four years, the window that just happens to coincide with Colorado’s expected run at or near the top of the league.

“For Joe and his staff to put their faith in me for four years, we’re just so excited to settle down somewhere,” Toews said. “It’s a crazy time right now, with a lot of moving parts in the league and the world in general. To kind of have that security and know that we can settle down and try to start a family in one place without having to worry about moving around, is something we’re very excited about.”

While his role for the Avs is still up in the air, he’s talked with the coaching staff a bit and is looking forward to seeing how he can help the team on the ice.

“I’m just going to try and do whatever I can to complement those players,” Toews said. “I’m not a guy who’s going to go out there and try and do anything flashy. I just want to complement the players they already have and try and put them in the best situations with the puck, without the puck, talk through things, whatever it might be”

As mentioned above, the circuitous route Toews took to the first big payday of his career is rare. It’s not uncommon for a player to be a late-bloomer a la his teammate Ryan Graves, whom he played against a handful of times each year when they were Islanders and Rangers prospects, respectively. It’s a little more uncommon for a late-bloomer to come on at the age Toews did and at the level he did.

While Graves looks more like a “depth” defenseman long-term, Toews was a bonafide second-pairing defender for the league’s best defensive club in the Islanders. While the breakout was unexpected from the outside, Toews himself felt like it’s been coming for a while.

“I’ve only been in the league for two years but I feel like I’ve been ready for three or four,” Toews said. “It’s just the way I’ve felt my game has progressed over the last four or five years has been so strong and I just feel like I’ve been ready.”

With Toews on board, it does change the roster math when the Avalanche heads into the Seattle expansion draft next summer. With Erik Johnson’s No-Movement Clause, he has to be protected, which would expose one of Cale Makar, Sam Girard, or Toews should the Avs choose to protect seven forwards and three defensemen.

That’s next offseason’s problem, however, as this deal should conclude the majority of Colorado’s business. This signing puts the Avalanche with a full lineup (12F/6D/2G) and, according to CapFriendly, approximately $1.8M remaining in salary cap space. That’s enough space for one more forward and defenseman on a cheap contract (O’Connor, Kaut, any of the AHL veterans, Byram, Timmins, MacDonald, Gilbert).