The Colorado Avalanche could use some help in terms of depth pieces for the 2022-23 season but is Jonathan Toews a smart move? I’m not so sure it is. Unfortunately, Toews has just 14 goals in 46 games this season. To compare as fair as possible, during the 2012-13 season, he played in 47 games, scoring 23 goals and 25 assists.
One of the big differences here is his age. In the 2012-13 season, Toews was 24-years old. As you would imagine, that means that he was faster and had more juice in him to keep going. Add ten years onto his career, and it’s no shock that at age 34, he has slowed down. That’s just the way it goes in the world of sports.
Another reason why the Colorado Avalanche should avoid trading for Toews is the fact that we don’t exactly know how much longer he will or even wants to play. The Avalanche should be looking at players who have a lot left in the tank; they should not try and acquire players so close to the tail end of their careers such as Toews. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense if you’re trying to get the ball rolling.
It also would not make the most sense to take a player from the same division while giving them a younger player or two in return. That just smells of helping out the Chicago Blackhawks more than they’re helping themselves. You would be surrendering a player or two (to take on Toews’ contract) and losing out on more bodies.
I just do not feel like giving away multiple players in this trade makes a lot of sense especially given the team’s injury situation this season. The Avalanche have missed Gabriel Landeskog all season long, but have also gone several games without Nathan MacKinnon, Evan Rodrigues and Cale Makar. They should keep the guys they currently have.