Devon Toews

Colorado's acquisition of Toews from the Islanders in October 2020 for a pair of second-round picks is going to go down as one of the biggest heists in recent memory. The 28-year-old rearguard shattered his previous high-water marks a season ago, finishing with 13 goals, 44 assists, 57 points, 158 shots on goal, 12 power-play points and a plus-52 rating in 66 games. Toews then added five goals and 15 points in 20 playoff games to help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup. There's no doubt playing alongside Cale Makar on Colorado's top defensive pair has done wonders for Toews' fantasy value, but he's a good, borderline great, player in his own right. Toews projects as a high-end No. 2 fantasy defender again this coming fall.

Toews enjoyed a career year in 2020-21 with nine goals and 22 assists across 53 games. He also added a plus-29 rating, 87 blocked shots and 121 shots on goal, displaying a solid two-way game worthy of a top-pairing spot on the Avalanche's young and talented defense. He may not shoot 7.4 percent again, but it's clear the 27-year-old will play a key role in the team's success this season, especially when forming an elite top pairing with Cale Makar. Toews will do the bulk of his scoring at even strength, but he should again top 30 points while driving play in all three zones as the engine of the Avalanche's defense corps. Without much power-play time to look forward to, the BC native will likely be a late-round pick in fantasy drafts.

Toews had a career year across the board with the Islanders last season, setting new personal bests in essentially every single category, including games played (68), goals (six), assists (22), PIM (16), shots (122), power-play points (six), hits (55), blocks (75) and average ice time (20:31). The Isles couldn't afford to re-sign the restricted free agent this offseason, so they ended up trading him to Colorado in October in exchange for a pair of second-round picks. Shortly thereafter, the Avalanche signed Toews to a four-year, $16.4 million contract. Toews' ice time may dip a bit in 2020-21, as he's expected to skate with Ian Cole on Colorado's third pairing, but he'll still see ample usage with the man advantage as a member of the Avs' second power-play unit, which will bolster his scoring upside. He'll have eight goal, 35-point potential over the course of a full season, making him a nice fourth or fifth option at defense for fantasy players looking to add depth in the later rounds of this year's drafts.

Toews made his NHL debut on Dec. 23, and besides a brief stint back in the AHL around the All-Star break, stayed with the Islanders for the rest of the season. He played mostly in place of an injured Thomas Hickey, who missed 29 games because of an upper-body injury. Toews played so well, though, that he remained in the lineup instead of Hickey after he became healthy. In 48 NHL games, the 25-year-old posted five goals, 18 points and a plus-7 rating. He didn't play much while short handed, but Toews did become a regular on the Islanders' second power-play unit. Coach Barry Trotz will have some major decisions to make on his blue line in 2019-20, and a late-summer trade isn't out of the question, but Toews will head into training camp in contention with Hickey for the Islanders' No. 6 defenseman spot.

Toews is gradually making his way through the Islanders system, adding 13 goals and 54 assists over 106 games with AHL Bridgeport over the past two seasons. He hasn't seen the bright lights of the NHL, but his time should come soon considering the Isles finished with the worst goal differential (minus-32) in the league last year and lost all-world pivot John Tavares to the Maple Leafs in July.