EDMONTON >> Devon Toews isn’t particularly active on social media.

His last Instagram post was 30 weeks ago, and it’s only been a handful of family-focused posts since one of him lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022. His Instagram stories are a window into the relationship with his work partner.

Nearly every story in the past two seasons has been congratulating the guy who sits next to him in the Avalanche locker room — Cale Makar — for his most recent feat or milestone.

“He hates it, and I think it’s funny,” Toews said. “It’s my little way of annoying him. I guess there are a lot of those posts because he just keeps breaking records all the time. He’s gonna continue to do so for the next 12 years or however long he ends up playing.

“Yeah, we’re definitely close.”

Toews and Makar have been arguably the best defense pairing in the NHL for the past four and a half seasons, since the former arrived from the New York Islanders via a grand larceny-level transaction in October 2020. They haven’t been inseparable, but they are among the top pairings in time on ice together in that span.

The duo has spent more than 4,000 minutes together just at 5-on-5, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. When the Avs are in a big spot, it’s a near certainty that No. 7 and No. 8 will be skating slowly together toward a faceoff circle.

When asked to describe their impact together, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar chuckled while trying to find the words for an answer.

“It’s hard to do,” Bednar said. “I think it just gives us the stability that you want and need from a top pair. Those guys can play against anybody. They can check anybody. They can create offense against anybody. So I think it’s two well-rounded guys. They certainly have a good chemistry together and complement one another at the same time. It’s huge. Both guys can play a lot of minutes and play really good hockey in that time.

“It’s a luxury that not every coach has, but we’re certainly happy to have them together.”

Bednar won’t have them for the next two weeks. After a wild Friday night in Edmonton, when both were fantastic in a 5-4 victory, Makar and Toews were off to Montreal, along with Nathan MacKinnon, to play for Canada in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.

The tournament is the first best-on-best international event at the senior level since the 2016 World Cup. It will be the first chance for Makar and MacKinnon to represent their country since the world junior championships as teenagers. It will be the first time Toews ever plays for Canada.

The expectation is that the two defensemen will play together. In a short tournament, trying to manufacture chemistry on the ice is paramount.

Canadian coach Jon Cooper will have one of the most successful defense pairings in recent NHL history to lean on.

“I don’t know where we would be without them,” MacKinnon said. “It’s scary to think about. I think they’re playing too much (lately), but it is what it is. If anyone can handle it, it is those two guys. They are just freaks, just so efficient.”

MacKinnon didn’t know a lot about Toews when the Avalanche sent two second-round picks to the Islanders for him during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Islanders were tight on cap space and didn’t think they could do a new deal with the restricted free agent.

Toews signed a four-year, $16.4 million deal two weeks after the trade, and it became one of the best value contracts in the NHL. He finished in the top 15 of the Norris Trophy voting each of his first three seasons with the club.

“I just remember the first couple of practices, his stick, just how crazy good it was and how frustrating it was to go against him in training camp,” MacKinnon said. “Then he just took off. Our record with and without him is crazy. He’s so important to this team, arguably the most important guy. He’s so good for us.

“He’s kind of like a Nick Lidstrom back there — his style, his stick and his IQ is through the roof. I think he’s been a top-5 D for years now, since we got him, at least.”

Makar and Toews didn’t really know a lot about each other, either. The Avs and Isles only play twice a year.

Toews knew of Makar because they both played college hockey. He took notice when the kid at UMass lit up teams en route to winning the Hobey Baker Award, then claimed the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie the following year.

A couple of weeks after Makar accepted the trophy on Zoom, they were teammates. In those early days after the NHL reconvened for the shortened 2020-21 season, neither realized their convergence would help define a franchise for a decade to come.

“I don’t know if I really thought about it like that,” Makar said. “Once he got here, we were like, ‘OK, he’s a really good player.’ I think he’s versatile, and he can play with anybody up and down the lineup. I’m fortunate to have him as my partner.”

They didn’t play a ton together that first year — only about one-third of Toews’ 5-on-5 ice time was with Makar. The next year, the duo got rolling.

Makar won the Norris Trophy, while Toews finished eighth in the voting. The Avs rolled to the championship, and Makar claimed the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Had the NHL players participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics, there’s a chance the pair would have been on the international stage together then. Their partnership has continued to thrive in the years since.

Toews was once one of the most underrated players in the sport. He might still be.

MacKinnon said that Toews “let’s Cale be Cale,” which is a game-breaking, historic talent.

“I can always trust him to be there if I do something wrong,” Makar said. “I can play my game in areas that — not overextending myself — but at the same time, I just know that we’ve got that chemistry, that we’re always gonna be one up in the play and one back or vice versa. When I need him for an outlet, he’s usually there.”

Part of why they work so well together is their personalities. They’re both selfless, quick to deflect individual praise. Toews might like to promote Makar’s milestones because he thinks it annoys his buddy, but he’s the same way.

No one has had a better view of Makar’s brilliance. Makar has staked a claim to being the best defenseman of his generation. The night before he scored twice to help topple Edmonton, he scored his 20th of the season against Calgary and Bednar said he will be remembered as an all-time great.

When an NHL scout walked by a reporter typing away on deadline at Rogers Place, he said, “Makar is good. Just write that.”

“To me, a great hockey player, besides the skill and all that, is someone that does the ordinary things, the everyday things, extremely well,” Toews said. “To go from being a good player to being one of the best is being able to do ordinary things over and over again and do them extremely well. It’s the compete, the tape-to-tape passes — all the tiny little nuances in our game. If you’re able to do that exceptionally well and consistently, then you’re going to be a great player in this league.

“He does that, on top of the high-end skill he has. There are other guys in this league that have that skill set, but how he does the little things is what sets him apart.”