Devon Toews Makes Team Canada, Will Play in First Olympic Games

Devon Toews will represent Team Canada in the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Toews, 31, was part of Canada’s roster during their 4 Nations Face-Off gold medal performance last February. He spent most of the four-game tournament on the top pair alongside Avalanche teammate Cale Makar and averaged more than 24 minutes of time-on-ice.

Toews had never represented Canada at any level before that. His chemistry and career arc since joining Colorado in 2020 earned him a key role on the team. Toews has been one of the NHL’s best defensemen for a half-decade.

He was acquired ahead of the 2021 regular season from the New York Islanders for two draft picks. Since then, Toews has an NHL-best +202 rating. In his 395 regular-season games with Colorado, Toews has 55 goals and 244 points. He’s averaged more than 50 points in every 82 games, albeit this year he has one goal and 12 points in 38 games.

Nathan MacKinnon and Makar will also represent Team Canada. They were part of the first six to be named to the roster over the summer.

The Olympics will run from Feb. 11-22. This is the first time since 2014 that the NHL is pausing its season to allow players to participate.

The last two Olympic Games with NHL participation were both won by Team Canada. In 2014, Canada defeated Gabriel Landeskog and Team Sweden 3-0 in the gold medal game. Four years prior, Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal for Canada in Vancouver to defeat Team USA 3-2 in overtime.