The New York Islanders have traded defenseman Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche, in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.
Toews had 28 points in 68 games with the Islanders this season. He’s 26 years old and is currently a restricted free agent.
#Isles Transaction: The team has acquired the Colorado Avalanche’s second round selections in the 2021 and 2022 NHL Drafts, in exchange for defenseman Devon Toews. pic.twitter.com/Skc1t1PQsR
This move almost certainly comes as a result of New York’s lack of cap space but losing Toews is a blow for the Islanders. He’s still young and it looked as though he’d become a long-term fit in New York’s top-four. He has the ability to add offense and was decent in his own end through the majority of the year.
It’s probably quite likely that we see another move at some point in the near future, potentially involving the Islanders moving some of those picks along with a player on a bad contract in order to free up cap space, now that they have the draft capital to make a move.
I’ll have another article out tomorrow giving more in-depth thoughts on the trade.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Thoughts on Devon Toews being traded for two second-round picks?