New Jersey Devils: 5 Defensemen Worth Trading Fourth-Overall Pick

Devon Toews

The Colorado Avalanche traded two 2nd-round picks to steal Devon Toews from the New York Islanders, but it is becoming an embarrassment of riches over in the Rocky Mountains. Having Toews on top of Cale Makar, Sam Girard, Bowen Byram, and Ryan Graves is straight up unfair. Obviously, if they don’t make a move, it will lead to losing one of these players (outside of Byram who is not eligible).

The move that makes the most sense is Graves, and the Devils should absolutely consider that, but the fourth-overall pick is nowhere near available in that deal. When it comes to Toews, it’s definitely something the Devils would think about twice. There are a few issues here.

For one, Toews is much older in hockey years compared to the other players on this list. He’s 27 and coming off by far his best season. Can he continue to play at the level of one of the better defenders in the league, and how much was he lifted by playing next to Makar. They played 366 minutes together at even strength. He also played 272 minutes with Girard. Those are two of the best young defensemen this decade. It’s hard not to look good next to them.

However, the Devils need to make a splash, and Toews play this season showed he can look awesome playing on the left side. It’s probably an overpay to give up the fourth-overall pick, but Joe Sakic dominated the last Toews trade and it shouldn’t come as a surprise he would dominate another trade involving him. This time, the Devils could end up happy if they finally find a second defenseman that can play on the first line. They’ve been trying to find it since before they made the Sami Vatanen trade in 2017.