The Colorado Avalanche could use some extra help between the third and fourth line. To me, adding some help at the third-line centre position makes sense, as Charlie Coyle has been linked to trade rumours. Jack Drury is the player taking over at 4C. Could there be another addition to the team that could force a player such as Coyle or even Martin Necas out the door?
Former long-time Blackhawks centre Jonathan Toews is reportedly coming out of retirement. He no longer has a contract after being out of the league for the past two seasons, so he is an unrestricted free agent that is able to sign with any team of his choosing. The Avalanche are reportedly on a list of a handful of teams Toews is considering playing for.
Any player who general manager Chris MacFarland sees as an upgrade would be a good get. The Avalanche don’t have a lot of cap space as you’ve heard countless times, but Toews would be a rental for any team that he ends up choosing to play for. He is 37 years old and might not play more than one more year despite sitting out two seasons. It would make sense for Toews to try and get somewhat of a big money contract but I don’t see any team forking over a high AAV deal for a 37 year old.
With that in mind, signing with the Avalanche would make sense for Toews because he would likely have a decent role in his return to the league. It’s hard to know what he has left in the tank, but even as a training camp tryout wouldn’t hurt, I don’t think.
In his age-32 season, the most recent season he has played in, Toews had 15 goals and 16 assists in 53 games. He averaged 17:43 in time on ice per game. His season was shortened due to long COVID.
The Avalanche would have to figure out if signing Toews to a short-term deal is worth trading someone who I mentioned above (Necas, Coyle). If they don’t feel like Toews is a clear upgrade, maybe they just forget about the idea.
Who knows? Perhaps an unexpected player gets traded. I guess we shall see one way or another. The Avalanche need to fill out some of their roster vacancies as it is. It’s not going to necessarily be easy.
My gut says he will sign with the Winnipeg Jets because he’s from that area. It would be a reasonable bet that he would end up making that decision because he can retire where he is from.
I don’t hate the idea of signing Toews, but don’t think it necessarily happens.