Welcome to Evan’s mailbag, where Denver Gazette reporter Evan Rawal answers all your Avalanche- and hockey-related questions each Monday. Mailbag questions can be sent to evan.rawal@gazette.
com . Why are the Avs playing Toews through his injury when they have such a deep blueline? It's a fair question. Part of me thinks they're playing Devon Toews through this because they've been missing so many forwards and they really need him.
With some forwards returning, that might change. If this team can go on a bit of a run and put together some wins, I'm pretty sure they'd give him a few games off. Coach Jared Bednar has said a few times that Toews at 80-85% is better than most players at 100% and he's not wrong, but Toews hasn't quite looked like himself this season.
It's just difficult to replace a guy who plays on your top pair and is used in every situation. Do the Avalanche have a deep blueline? It probably isn't as deep as they'd hoped, mostly because Oliver Kylington has really struggled, which may explain why Toews is playing through injury. About Kylington.
.. What are the Avs doing with Kylington? He's looked awful in his short time and he’s $1 million against the cap.
To be honest, I'm not sure. He hasn't played well even going back to the preseason. It feels a bit like the Tomas Tatar signing late last summer.
Talented guy who signs late in the summer but just doesn't fit in well with the team. The unfortunate part of all this is that Kylington hasn't played much hock.
