Colorado Avalanche re-sign Ryan Graves, acquire Devon Toews from Islanders

First up, the Colorado Avalanche have re-signed left-shooting defenseman Ryan Graves to a three-year contract worth $3,166,667 per season. The now 25-year-old scored 26 points in 69 games partnering Cale Makar on the first pairing. Graves had a 53% shot share and a 65% goals share this season with the Avalanche.

Graves contract does not have any clauses or signing bonuses attached to it, just a simple raise over the next three years ($2.5 million, $3 million, $4 million). Graves will be 27 and a UFA when his contract expires.

Almost more importantly, the Avalanche have also acquired 26-year-old LHD Devon Toews from the New York Islanders in exchange for two second round picks (Col ‘21, COL ‘22). Toews (not related to the Chicago captain) is an RFA this offseason and has become a victim of the Isles cap crunch.

He played borderline first pair minutes on the team and had very good defensive and 5v5 impacts. His expected goals numbers have been great for his past two seasons, but he’s suffered under poor shooting percentages on the Islanders.

He likely won’t play on the power play, but it’s entirely possible he supplants Graves as Makar’s partner. Two seconds is a high price to pay, but the Avalanche didn’t have to give up a first and they got a legitimate #3 in the prime of his career.

Toews made $700k for the past two seasons, a complete steal of a contract for the value he provided. It’s likely he’ll get a longer term deal with a significant raise as he’s approaching UFA next season. Toews applied for arbitration with the Islanders a few days ago, the Avalanche have now inherited that case. The two sides can definitely still come to a deal well before the hearings begin.

Highlights

There’s frankly a lot to like about Toews from these highlights alone. I am very very excited about this acquisition.