In Wednesday’s media session, several players on the Colorado Avalanche met with the media including defenseman Devon Toews. Toews is in the last year of his contract, which will pay him $5.9 million. His cap space number is at $4.1 million.
Compared to his 2021-22 Stanley Cup season, Toews had a down year in 2022. The previous season, he had 13 goals in 66 games, but in 2022, he had just seven in 80 games. The Colorado Avalanche’s system has its defensemen play a lot of offense. It’s one of their key ways of being a successful team, especially with Cale Makar leading the way.
The Colorado Avalanche are $6.475 million over the cap right now but once the money from Gabriel Landeskog going on long-term injured reserve kicks in, they will have $525k to work with. It’s not a lot but I’d imagine that the team will look to adjust some things at some point.
Toews said that he would like to finish his career with the Colorado Avalanche. It makes a lot of sense for him to want that, as he is playing alongside the best defenseman in the entire NHL in Cale Makar. Being paired with someone like Makar makes anybody better. There’s no guarantee Toews would be the same player somewhere else.
Devon Toews says contract talks have and continue to happen between the #Avs and his group:
— Aarif Mohiedeen (@runwriteAarif) September 20, 2023
"I'd rather it not drag on into the season. My intent is to stay here for the rest of my career. If we're able to get that done, that would be awesome."
It is best to keep their lines intact as much as they possibly can. If they’re working, it’s not easy to replace the talent.
If the Colorado Avalanche are unable to re-sign Toews before he hits free agency, the team would likely look at pairing Makar with someone such as Josh Manson, Jack Johnson, or Kurtis MacDermid. Maybe Bowen Byram would be ready to be on that top line.
Unfortunately, the NHL cap is not very high, compared to a league such as the NFL. Some talented players will end up somewhere else next offseason. The Colorado Avalanche hopes that that’s not the case with Devon Toews.