Noah Dobson on ex-Isle Devon Toews: 'He was a good player here'
New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson (8) celebrates his goal with center Mathew Barzal (13) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Buffalo, N.Y. Credit: AP/Jeffrey T. Barnes
Devon Toews has been an ex-Islander twice as long as the two seasons he played for them. But Tuesday night marked the first time the defenseman played against his former team at UBS Arena since agreeing to a seven-year, $50.75 million extension with the Avalanche on Oct. 13 that begins next season.
“Yeah, really happy,” Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson said. “He was a good player here, a really good player. And he’s really flourished in Colorado. Him and Cale [Makar] have been one of the top defensive pairs in the league the last couple of years. I think it’s deserving.”
President/general manager Lou Lamoriello traded Toews to the Avalanche for two second-round picks on Oct. 12, 2020 because of salary cap considerations and Toews agreed to a four-year, $16.4 million deal two weeks later.
That deal and the cap-motivated trade of Nick Leddy to the Red Wings on July 16, 2021 cost the Islanders their two best puck-moving defensemen.
Dobson has tried to fill that void along with Sebastian Aho. Alexander Romanov is a strong skater and Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are savvy defensemen. But the Islanders have sometimes struggled in transition.
“I think it’s a bit more moving the puck by committee,” coach Lane Lambert said. “But we want our guys to move the puck. Dobson, for me, he’s a puck mover. Pelly is a puck mover. Pully is a puck mover. In order to spend less time in our zone, we have to be able to break the puck out.”
Isles files
Defenseman Scott Mayfield (lower body) missed his fourth game. Lambert said Mayfield skated on his own on Tuesday and also clarified that when he said on Monday Mayfield was “trying” to skate, it did not indicate Mayfield had suffered a setback…Forwards Hudson Fasching and Julien Gauthier were the healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
