It’s tough to argue against the Colorado Avalanche having one of the best cores in the league. Built around Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog up front (with Landeskog, who is 30, clocking in as the oldest of the three) and Cale Makar and Devon Toews manning the blue line, it’s easy to see how this group won the Stanley Cup in the 2021-22 season.
MacKinnon signed an extension, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL and a member of the Avalanche until the end of the 2030-31 season. Makar and Landeskog also re-upped with the Avalanche, with Makar becoming a UFA at the end of the 2026-27 season and Landeskog at the end of the 2028-29 season. Rantanen becomes a UFA in two years, leaving one player, Devon Toews, to worry about. And as he shouldered a ton of the workload through Makar’s injuries this season and has garnered a reputation as one of the most underrated defensemen in the NHL, signing Toews to an extension should be a priority for the Avalanche this offseason.
Devon Toews’ Current Contract
The 29-year-old Abbotsford, BC native is currently with the Avalanche on a contract worth $4.1 million annually–an absolute steal for a player of his calibre. The deal, signed in 2020 following an arbitration filing, carries a four-year term that expires at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Three years into the deal, Toews has put together an impressive stat sheet. In 199 total games, he’s collected 138 points, 25 of which came on the power play. And probably most exceptionally, his plus/minus statistics consistently lead the league, including a whopping plus-52 in the 2021-22 season. He also has recorded over 120 shots in each of the last three seasons and can easily play 25 minutes and over a night. He’s responsible defensively and has a high hockey IQ on both sides of the ice. Essentially, Toews has made himself an invaluable asset for the Avalanche since he joined the club, proving his worth and becoming instrumental in many of the team’s successes, most notably the Stanley Cup victory.
Comparable Contracts for a Possible Devon Toews Extension
Across the league, defensemen like Toews are hard to come by. The salary cap is expected to rise in 2024-25 (early projections suggest it could rise to $88 million), meaning the Avalanche have a bit more wiggle room to offer Toews a contract that affirms his value and benefits the team. Of course, for help and as a measure of Toews’ monetary value, general manager Chris MacFarland and the Avalanche can look around the league for benchmarks and comparables.
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Damon Severson is set to get a new contract this offseason and is the same age as Toews (both players were born in 1994), so he could be a benchmark for what the Colorado blueliner could get on the market. Pre-existing comparables include Mackenzie Weegar‘s contract, which is an eight-year deal worth $50 million ($6.25 million annually) and Morgan Reilly, who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for eight years at $7.5 million per year.
Both players are similar in that they eat big minutes, are roughly the same age, and play the same roles on their respective teams. Other similar players include John Klingberg (who has yet to sign a new deal and is a bit older), Hampus Lindholm and, to a lesser extent, Ryan Pulock.
What to Expect
Based on the comparable contracts, the deal (should it happen) will likely settle around the $6 million mark, also factoring in Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen’s respective salaries. It’s still team-friendly and is certainly competitive with the market for players similar to Toews.
That said, Toews is probably the strongest defenseman of the bunch and certainly of the most value to the Avalanche. So if the club is going to make an extension happen, MacFarland and Joe Sakic should get busy.
