Devon Toews has always been a team-first guy, and as head coach Jared Bednar put it, Toews’ most important team is his family.
That’s why the Avalanche’s star defenseman made it clear that, while making the Olympics is a great honor, his family and expecting wife will come first. Toews’ wife, Kerry, is due on Feb. 2, days before he’s expected to join Team Canada in Italy for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.
“Yeah, I mean, if my baby hasn’t arrived, I’m staying here. That’s 100% what I’ll do,” Toews said on Wednesday, just hours after getting a call from Hockey Canada that he’s officially been named to the team.
Devon Toews’ wife is due on February 2.
If it runs long, he’ll be late. Barring something unforeseen, he’ll be playing on this team. https://t.co/t2hN7Zyo4G
— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) December 31, 2025
An Avalanche spokesperson later clarified that, barring something unforeseen, Toews will be playing for Team Canada. If the expected due date is delayed, he’ll join his Canadian teammates late, but he’ll likely still be there in time for the tournament to begin on Feb. 11.
“That’s a headache, puzzle that I don’t necessarily envy,” Avalanche captain and Swedish Olympian Gabe Landeskog said. “That’s probably not easy to deal with, when it comes to kids and your wife and giving birth and things like that. I know the Olympics don’t come around very often, but neither does a first impression with your little baby. So first and foremost you want to be there for your wife and partner and and the other kids. So I can understand the headache that comes with it.”
READ MORE: Devon Toews Makes Team Canada, Will Play in First Olympic Games
Toews will join Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon on Team Canada’s roster, just as he did for the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. Makar and MacKinnon were part of the first six to be named to the roster last summer.
The trio won Gold at 4 Nations together.
“It’s cool. It should be a fun time,” Toews said. “Kind of weird on a game day morning of getting [the call], but yeah, pretty honored nonetheless.”
As he does in Colorado, Toews spent most of that tournament playing with Makar on the top pair.
“It’s the best because obviously we’re so familiar with each other. And whether or not they want to keep us together, I think they still have that in their back pocket if they want to throw us as a tandem, just reading off each other so well,” Makar said. “I’m very fortunate to have a partner like him. Makes my life and my job a lot easier.”
Makar joked: “I go to bed every night thinking about him, and I wake up in the morning thinking about Toewser.”
Blackwood, Wedgewod Snubbed
Neither of the Avalanche’s goalies made the roster for Team Canada.
Scott Wedgewood worked his way into the conversation after taking over starter duties while Mackenzie Blackwood was injured in October. The 33-year-old still leads the NHL in wins (17) heading into a New Year’s Eve matchup against the St. Louis Blues.
Blackwood, who is 12-1-1 on the season since making his debut on Nov. 1, became a late consideration for Hockey Canada’s brass after his game started to pick up. Blackwood was reported to be one of the four finalists, along with the three who made the team, just a few weeks ago.
Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was the starter at 4 Nations and will be on the team again despite his terrible season to date. Binnington will go head-to-head with Blackwood at Ball Arena on Wednesday night.
Since Wedgewood is not starting, he stayed on the ice for an extended period during morning skate and was not yet made available to media. Blackwood, however, spoke about the disappointment. He could very well be next in line as an injury replacement, but it doesn’t sound like Hockey Canada has reached out to him yet.
It’s likely that will happen in the coming days, if not later on Wednesday.
“I’ve never talked to them, ever,” Blackwood said, also noting that he hasn’t done any kind of testing yet. “Maybe a little disappointment, it was kind of 50-50 anyways.”
The other goalies are Washington’s Logan Thompson and L.A. Kings netminder and former Avalanche Stanley Cup champion Darcy Kuemper.
“Great to see a former teammate and a fellow champion going to that team. That’s exciting and probably well deserved,” Landeskog said of Kuemper, who he has not yet had a change to congratulate. “He’s a heck of a goalie when he turns it on, and obviously he’s done that for us in the past, and hopefully doesn’t do that in the tournament.”
