It’s been five years since the New York Islanders traded Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche for two second-round draft picks.
When the deal originally went down, nobody thought too much of it. However, the aftermath has seen the Avalanche reap the rewards of acquiring someone who’s become one of the best defensemen in the league and an integral part of their blue line.
One of Toews’ former Islanders teammates, Cal Clutterbuck, appeared on the recent episode of “Spittin’ Chiclets” and was asked if he was shocked when the trade happened.
“Not really. Yes and no. I mean, again, we were in a position where we had done really well. Somebody had to go because the numbers just don’t add up. So if you’re looking at us in that year, you know, the difference between him and Ryan Pulock, it’s like either him or Puls goes. And Puly was playing with Pely, and they were playing 23 minutes a game and shutting everyone down,” Clutterbuck said.
“So I think at the time it was just sort of like we need to keep the kind of core guys intact, and obviously you’d love to have both of those guys; I think that goes without saying. But hindsight’s 20/20. Maybe a little shocked, but at the time it was just like something needed to happen, and we were just waiting to see what it was, and that happened to be what it was,” Clutterbuck added.
Toews was a fourth-round draft pick (108th overall) of the Islanders back in 2014 and spent parts of two seasons in New York before the trade to Colorado.
Toews recently cracked NHL Network’s top 20 defensemen rankings
To further display just how good Devon Toews has become since leaving Long Island, the 31-year-old earned the number seventeen spot on NHL Network’s top 20 defensemen ranking revealed last week.
Toews has been extremely productive as an Av, having piled up 50-plus points in three of his last four seasons, while adding 44 (10 goals, 34 assists) in 76 games in 2024-25.
He’s emerged as the perfect partner for superstar Cale Makar, as the two have not only helped lead the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup in 2021-22, but most recently, Team Canada to a victory at the 4 Nations.
Crazy enough, he might still be underrated by many because of the all-world talent he gets to play with every night in Colorado.
