Let’s turn the clock back a hair over three years.
Hamstrung by the imposition of the flat salary cap, the coinciding expiring contracts of Ryan Pulock, Mathew Barzal and Devon Toews and unseemly cap hits for Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ladd, Lou Lamoriello orchestrated what might have been the most-criticized move of his tenure as Islanders general manager, dealing Toews to Colorado for a pair of second-round picks.
Even at the time the deal was made in October 2020, it seemed clear the Avs got Toews for 60 cents on the dollar. This was about clearing space, so judging the deal as merely A for B isn’t particularly fair.
Because Toews just made his annual return to UBS Arena with the Avs, though — just a couple weeks after inking a seven-year, $50.75 million extension to stay in Colorado — now does feel like an appropriate time to look at the deal as an inflection point.
