Revisiting The Devon Toews Trade

Revisiting The Devon Toews Trade

Devon Toews is officially a rich man after agreeing to a contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. With that said, it’s a perfect time to revisit the trade that brought Toews to Colorado. It’s safe to say that this is a trade that Lou Lamoriello would like to have back.

Toews, 29, was acquired from the Islanders for two second round picks. New York selected him 108th overall in 2014. I guess you can technically say that the Islanders deserve credit for picking him. However, when you see the end return of the deal, Islanders fans will probably vomit.

It’s too early to say on the 2022 second rounder. The 2021 second rounder turned into Aatu Raty. If you recognize that name, it’s because he was the main piece that brought Bo Horvat to New York. I guess not totally terrible but the Islanders overpaid for Horvat and Toews would have been the number one blue liner this team needed.

Noah Dobson never turned into that guy. Ryan Pullock and Adam Pelech can’t move the puck like Toews can. This trade may have single-handedly sunk the Islanders into irrelevancy.

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I see this argument all the time. Well… Toews didn’t play like this with the Islanders! Toews wasn’t the player he is now but all of the signs were there that he would eventually pop. If you paid attention, you knew Toews was going to be special.

"toews wasn't that good in new york there was no way of knowing he'd develop into a star" pic.twitter.com/UVu2I5vk6V

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 13, 2023

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this was a terrible trade by the Islanders. Lou Lamoriello is still in charge of the Islanders but this trade may end up costing him his job later this year. The Islanders brought virtually the same team back and their blue line still isn’t good enough. It’s hard not to think of the what if had Toews stayed with the Islanders.

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