Does Devon Toews is a most valuable Avs players in the first third of the season

[Belgican]

I agree with MarkT, Toews is so valuable, but let’s face it, Toews has been awfull in some games against Saint Louis, I would like more consistency, not to be negative because in his role, he has been very effective, but I think EJ and Byram were there to compensate when he was off. Just my 2 cents

 

[ASmileyFace]

For a hot take I'm gonna say Toews has surpassed Rantanen as the 3rd most important player on this team.

I'd say this take is lukewarm at best these days, even with Rantanen remembering that he plays hockey during the Oilers series.

Before the playoffs I said the three players who the Avs were going to depend on the most in the playoffs were: Mack, Makar, Kuemper. Now I think the order is Makar, MacKinnon and Toews.

 

[MarkT]

I agree with MarkT, Toews is so valuable, but let’s face it, Toews has been awfull in some games against Saint Louis, I would like more consistency, not to be negative because in his role, he has been very effective, but I think EJ and Byram were there to compensate when he was off. Just my 2 cents

Even in games where he's struggled, I feel it's been execution and bad luck rather than poor decision-making that's done him in. The one real flaw I've seen in his game, is when the other team really forechecks him hard and plays physical, it can hurt his execution.

I'd say this take is lukewarm at best these days, even with Rantanen remembering that he plays hockey during the Oilers series.

Before the playoffs I said the three players who the Avs were going to depend on the most in the playoffs were: Mack, Makar, Kuemper. Now I think the order is Makar, MacKinnon and Toews.

I think the Edmonton series really highlighted how important Makar and Toews are to this team. They were the best guys on the team at shutting down McDrai, and that's a really difficult thing to do even if one of them was injured. That shutout was a masterclass in how dominant the two of them can be. As great as some of our forwards played in that series, I don't think anyone besides Makar and Toews was as consistently excellent.

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

He's very valuable and an amazing two-way player, but let's hope his valuation on the market doesn't get too high. He's clearly benefitting from playing next to this generation's best player at the position, maybe the entire league. I mean he's certainly a top D in the league, but if he's on another team as their clear #1D and he doesn't have a great player next to him, what's his stat line and overall contribution going to look like? And you know the Avs have this all in mind, if his price gets too high we move onto the Cale and Bo show.

I think you pay the price for Toews, term is what you would have to be careful with but I am not sure Toews is a guy we want to trade or let walk. I do think both Makar and Toews benefit from each other but I actually think that Makar hurts Toews valuation. Toews was 10th in point production this year and some of that is enabled by having Makar but I have seen plenty of times he is driving the offense from the back end and even rushing up the ice. Where Makar hurts him is our pp1 spends the majority of time on the pp and pp2 rarely has a decent enough time to set up. If you only look at even strength points Toews goes up to 5th in points this season, you let him run pp1 even on another team his points might even go up depending on the team. Byram is in the same boat without pp1 they will never have the same opportunity for points but both could certainly run qb on the pp.

 

[SaltySkywalker]

This thread title hurts my brain.

 

[flyfysher]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but this is the most recent thread about Toews I could find.

I was chatting with my Dad just now. He's a Habs fan but he's been watching the Avs these playoffs because of me. We were going back and forth about who he would want on the Habs between Makar and MacKinnon when it dawned on me that quite possibly the most irreplaceable player on the team is Toews. If MacKinnon is out, Rantanen can fill that role. If Makar is out, Toews, Girard or Byram can fill that role. If Toews is out, nobody can fill his role. Makar these playoffs has been close, and I believe will get there soon enough, but for now Toews is in my opinion the most valuable player on the team. I've been watching him very closely this year, and the guy always makes the right decisions. When things go wrong for him it's always bad bounces or bad luck - his intention, especially with the puck, is always the right one. There's no one I trust more in every conceivable situation.

Anyway, that's my love letter to Toews. I've become such a fan I'm changing my avatar, at least for the rest of these playoffs.

Toews is up there as team MVP for sure but for my money it’s Nichushkin.