Avalanche acquire Roy from Leafs for 1st-, 5th-round picks

The Colorado Avalanche acquired forward Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional 2027 first-round pick and a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick, the teams announced Thursday.

The first-round pick is top-10 protected. Toronto will receive the lowest of the three fifth-rounders that Colorado owns in 2026.

Roy has five goals and 20 points in 59 games, and the right-handed center has won 52.9% of his draws. The 29-year-old is signed through next season at a $3-million cap hit.

The Maple Leafs acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade last year.

Roy, listed at 6-foot-4, won the Stanley Cup in 2023 with the Golden Knights. He notched 11 points in 22 contests during Vegas' championship run.

He's accumulated 73 goals and 186 points in 428 career games between the Carolina Hurricanes, Golden Knights, and Maple Leafs. He also has 10 goals and 32 points in 79 total playoff games, all with Vegas.

The Avalanche acquired defenseman Nick Blankenburg on Wednesday and previously added blue-liner Brett Kulak in a cap-saving move that shipped out rearguard Samuel Girard.

Colorado sits atop the NHL with a 41-10-9 record. The Avalanche still have $6.9 million of deadline cap space after adding Roy, according to PuckPedia.