Islanders: Three takeaways from Devon Toews trade to Colorado

The New York Islanders have traded Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche. Here are three takeaways from the trade.

After six years in the organization, most of it spent in the minors, the New York Islanders have traded Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche for two second-round picks (one in 2021 and the other in 2022, both owned by Colorado). The Islanders needed to make cap space and this should allow them to do so.

Toews got his break after being called up to the NHL in 2018-19 when Thomas Hickey was sidelined with an injury. Toews played so well that he forced Barry Trotz to play him and forced Lou Lamoriello to keep him in the NHL the next season.

But with a flat salary cap, the price to move money around the league was difficult or next to impossible. It cost the New York Rangers a second-round pick in 2021 to move Marc Staal’s $5.7 million cap hit ($3.2 million in actual dollars). What would it take to move Johnny Boychuk‘s $6 million cap hit in 20-21 and in 21-22?

Clearly, the main takeaway from the Toews trade is that it will go some way to alleviate the Islanders salary cap issues (at least for this season). And that’s what I wanted to get to with this post, what should we take away from this deal?

Making cap space is perhaps the most obvious benefit of the trade and the reason Lou made it. But what else can we take away from this trade by the Islanders?