New York Islanders Daily: Devon Toews Expectations For 2018 and Beyond

The New York Islanders just signed Devon Toews to a two-year one-way deal. What can we expect from Toews going forward?

The former fourth-round selection from the 2014 draft has come on strong for the New York Islanders the past couple of years as a prospect. In 2016-2017 Devon Toews led all rookie defensemen in scoring in the AHL with 45 points.

In 30 games in 2017-2018, Toews had 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) before suffering a season-ending injury.

As an RFA, he was due a new contract, so the Islanders decided to lock him up for two more years on a one-way deal. Now the question becomes what kind of role with Toews have with the team going forward.

In 2018, he will likely fight for a bottom pairing position. As it stands right now the pairs appear to be Leddy – Boychuk, Hickey – Pulock, Pelech – Mayfield. Toews should have a realistic shot to crack the rotation over a guy like Adam Pelech.

A bottom pairing defenseman is far from Toews ceiling. He should be able to develop into a top-four guy, which the Islanders desperately could use. If he gets solid playing time this year it could happen sooner rather than later because leapfrogging Thomas Hickey should be pretty realistic expectations for Toews by the time 2019 rolls around.

Toews is an extremely fast skater with good offensive instincts. He could eventually become a Nick Leddy type of player for the Islander which should go nicely with either Ryan Pulock or Noah Dobson.

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