Former Islander On Why Team Traded Future $50M Defenseman

When Spittin’ Chiclets host Ryan Whitney asked former New York Islanders hit-leader Cal Clutterbuck what the team was thinking when they traded top-level defenseman Devon Toews, Clutterbuck said he wasn’t shocked.

“What the hell were they doing when they traded Devon Toews?” asked Whitney. “You must have been shocked when that happened,” he added.

“No, not really,” responded Clutterbuck. “We were in a position where we had done really well. Somebody had to go, because the numbers just don’t add up.” “So if you’re looking at us in that year, that might have been, like, 19′, if you’re looking at that team in that year… You know the difference between him and, I guess, the only comparison is Ryan Pulock. It’s like, either him or Pools goes.”

Pulock and Adam Pelech were defense partners who were playing about 23 minutes per night, “and they were shutting everyone down,” said Clutterbuck. He then said that Toews had a great first year and then took a bit of a step back in his sophomore season. “I think at the time, it was just sort of like, ‘We need to keep the core guys intact.'”

He said the team knew that something needed to happen, and everyone was just waiting to see what it was. The Devon Toews trade is what it was. The Avalanche acquired Toews from the Islanders for a 2021 second-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.

While Clutterbuck wasn’t surprised, the counterargument to “someone had to go” was that smart cap management could have preserved space to keep the cornerstone defenseman. Creative roster moves, smarter contract structuring, or shedding less impactful players could have kept Toews in the fold—because if anyone should have been untouchable, it was him.

Toews Wound Up in a Good Spot

Devon Toews was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, where he has excelled beside Cale Makar. Toews was signed to a seven-year, $50.75 million contract with a cap hit of $7.25 million per season. His contract expires at the end of the 2030-31 season.

Clutterbuck said the Isles were happy to see Toews go to such a good situation and be a great fit. He’s the perfect playing partner for Makar because he can let Makar do what he does while backing him up. Toews is a simpler defenseman, but extremely good at what he does, which is protecting his zone and making a great first pass.

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