|
4-year, $16.4M deal for Toews |
|
|
Rick Sadowski
 Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
|
|
|
It’s been a whirlwind for new Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, who has signed a four-year contract through the 2023-24 season.
That’s how Toews described the past few weeks during a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday.
Besides being acquired Oct. 12 from the New York Islanders for second-round picks in the 2021 and 2022 NHL drafts, Toews, 26, got married and went on his honeymoon before avoiding arbitration by agreeing to the new deal.
The contract is worth $16.4 million, according to capfriendly.com, for a salary cap hit of $4.1 million beginning at $2.35 million next season with increases to $3.55 million, $4.6 million and $5.9 million in the fourth year.
The 6-feet-1, 196-pound Toews, who is from Abbotsford, British Columbia, had 28 points (six goals, 22 assists) in 68 games this past season with 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 22 playoff games.
“We’re excited to have Devon under contract for the next four years,” general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. “As I said when we acquired him, Devon is a smart, two-way, puck-moving defenseman who is a durable defender and is excellent in transition.”
Toews was the Islanders’ fourth-round selection (No. 108) in 2014. He has 46 points (11 goals, 35 assists) in 116 career regular-season games and 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 30 playoff games.
“There’s definitely an emotional side to (the trade), with all the relationships and friends and stuff we’ve made (on Long Island,” 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.
“For Joe and his staff to put their faith in me for four years, we’re just so excited to settle down somewhere. 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.”
Toews spent parts of three seasons with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League after playing three years at Quinnipiac University. He had 86 points (18 goals, 68 assists) in 130 career games with Bridgeport.
The Avalanche will head into next season – whether it begins Jan. 1 as the league hopes or later – with a well-rounded defense corps of Toews, Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Erik Johnson and Ian Cole with highly-regarded prospects Conor Timmins and Bowen Byram on standby.
“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.
“I try to pride myself on being a very calm and collected player. When things go wrong, when things go awry on the ice, some players like to get frustrated and stuff, but I’d rather just talk it out and try to be (part of) a good support system for whatever guys are thinking, try to take into account the way they think the game and play the game as well.”
Join the Discussion:
»