For the next calendar year, the Colorado Avalanche and defenseman Devon Toews will be circulating in the rumor mill, as Toews is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. Finishing out the last season of a four-year, $16.4MM ($4.1MM AAV), the Avalanche have received incredible surplus value from Toews on this contract. Pairing up nicely with star-defenseman Cale Makar, and becoming one of, if not the best defensive defenseman in the organization, Toews will undoubtedly be looking for a much higher salary on his next contract.
In an article by Peter Baugh of The Athletic, he writes that Evolving-Hockey has projected an eight-year, $64.4MM contract for Toews on his next deal. Within the last three years, Dougie Hamilton, Seth Jones, and Charlie McAvoy have all signed max term extensions, all making north of $9MM a year. In a similar list, MacKenzie Weegar, Hampus Lindholm, and Morgan Rielly have signed similarly long contracts, but are making between $6.25MM-$7.5MM a year. Given the quality of these defensemen, somewhere between $7.75MM-$8.25MM seems right for Toews, but not at a maximum length deal.
At 30 years old already, Toews will be hard-pressed to find an eight- or seven-year deal on his next contract, or will at least have to lower his price to get an interested team to bite. In Colorado, with Mikko Rantanen, Alexandar Georgiev, and Bowen Byram all needing new deals within two years, the Avalanche will have a difficult time financially fitting Toews into their long-term plans, even with the salary cap set to increase by a larger degree than in years past.
Other snapshots:
- Speculation has begun to increase on the landing spots for the college free agents that saw their exclusive rights expire yesterday. One of the most popular players on the list, Robert Mastrosimone, may be an interesting fit for the New York Islanders, at least according to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Currently holding 44 of a possible 50 contracts heading into the season, Rosner notes that Mastrosimone would be a great fit for the Islanders and that Mastrosimone even grew up an Islanders fan. Struggling in his first three years in the NCAA with Boston University, Mastrosimone took it to the next level for Arizona State University last season, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists in 38 games.
- In more unfortunate news, the Guelph Storm announced that defenseman Cameron Allen will miss a significant chunk of next season due to shoulder surgery. In the 2023 NHL Draft, Allen was drafted in the fifth round by the Washington Capitals, coming off a down year by his standards. Allen saw his goal-scoring numbers dip by eight between his freshman and sophomore year and will have limited time this upcoming season to continue improving.
Yep. I don’t really see how colorado can fit in toews after this year. They’re really gonna need some young guys to not only make the roster, but make an impact as well. Otherwise they will find themselves stuck in the middle.
Avs need to do whatever it takes to make sure there’s $$$ for Toews, as in, get rid of Sammy Spin-O-Rama, once and for all. Losing the Nazmanian Devil and Burakowsky hurt their depth. Losing Toews because of bad cap management could be more costly. Toews and Makar are one of the most compelling D-pairs to watch, for me. Most nights they tend to be greater than the sum of their parts.
Good luck finding someone to take that Girard contract off their hands. :0
@Gbear – I wonder if GMBT could be of any help? {:-/} How about our tried and true sweetener, “Two bags of pucks and some dirt” ? Or, as a last-ditch desperation attempt, “He’s the only one who can help you find the one-armed man, Dr. Kimball!”
@Mac – You know the Preds philosophy: you can never have enough Dmen…..and forwards, schmowards. :/
@Gbear – Do you think the first words out of Andrew Brunette’s mouth at training camp might be, “Don’t *any* of you forwards know how to score???” There’ll be a new toast at Tootsie’s – “Here’s to backing into the second wild card spot! Bottoms up!”
@Mac – Trotz will be like “what, I got you Nyquist…what more do you need?”. :/
Trotz talking about wanting more offense is like that uncle who’s idea of a big night out is biggie sizing his fries at Wendy’s. :D
Not sure why my Isles would have interest in Mastrosimone? Usually teams look to sign NHL caliber players and prospects