Islanders vs. Avalanche Gameday News: Mr. Toews, I presume

The New York Islanders conclude their Western road trip in Denver tonight where they’ll faced the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs have a ton of high-end players, but one in particular has a special place in our hearts and a special thorn in our box of regrets: Devon Toews, the fleet-skating, great-hands blueliner not named Nick Leddy who got was sent away as the Islanders’ salary cap problems reared their ugly head.

More on Toews below. Leave your First Islanders Goal picks here. Keep up with Avs news and notes at Mile High Hockey.

Islanders News

• The Isles go “for the rare win streak” tonight in Denver. It’s been that kind of season. [Newsday]
• Buried in the game preview/notes: “Former Islander Devon Toews has earned 39 points this season (9G, 30A) and is a plus-42 this season.” [Isles]
• Revisiting another former Isle who would later become a (much less successful) Av: The Ryan Smyth trade, 15 years later. [LHH]
• Dan and Mike discuss maddening ESPN coverage, the current Isles, and the strange legend of Zdeno Chara. [LHH Islanders Anxiety]
• Yester(leap) day in Isles history: Butch Goring’s #91 was retired on Feb. 29, so the anniversary is I guess still a couple years away. [Isles]
• Prospect Report: Ruslan scores in Germany. [Isles]

Our Missing Toews

We have re-litigated and/or mourned the Devon Toews trade so much that I just cry every time I hear his name. The Isles had to do something but ended up trading away a key future piece (granted, he was probably the only cap beast who would fetch something in return, as opposed to paying people to take Andrew Ladd/Nick Leddy). Jenny aptly summed it up at the time of the trade. There were signs of how good Toews might be just five games into his career. (And of course, there was the infamous moment when Garth Snow said the Islanders’ previous season was affected by Toews’ shoulder injury in the AHL before he’d even played an NHL game...which was true but also a bizarre diversion.)

But in case you want to torture yourself, here’s a great thread of the things Toews showed as an Islander and that he’s shown since.

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores included the Devils putting up 7(!) on the Canucks, and the Bruins beating the Kings 7-0.

But at least the Kings to this save!

• “What does this mean for Toronto?” trade deadline talk: Should the Leafs target Marc-Andre Fleury? [TSN]
• Should teams needing long-term goaltending help target Alexandar Georgiev? [TSN]
• Jaroslav Halak’s sudden struggles come at a bad time for the Canucks. [Sportsnet]
• After looking inside and outside of the organization, the Blackhawks...named their interim GM the main guy. Congrats to Kyle Davidson. [Sportsnet]
• A “playful, comfortable” Wayne Gretzky has emerged in his studio role for TNT. [Athletic]
• The NHL joined many sporting enterprises in condemning Russia, while expressing support for its Russian players. Cutting off Russian-language version of its website and social media, too. [Newsday | NHL]
• The IIHF banned Russia and its client Belearus from competitions (...for now). [ESPN]
• A new AI-generated stat will project “Face-off Probability.” [ESPN]
• The Panthers have signed Finland gold medalist Petteri Lindbohm, a former Blues draft pick who played 40 games in the 20-teens. [TSN]