The Colorado Avalanche have acquired center Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a protected 2027 first round pick and a conditional 2026 fifth round pick. Roy, 29, is in the fourth year of a five year contract he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022 and was acquired by the Maple Leafs last year as part of the Mitch Marner trade. Nicolas is the son of former Avs star goaltender and head coach Patrick Roy.
The move for Roy helps to address Colorado's need for a third line center, hopefully quelling rumors of a potential Nazem Kadri reunion. Roy is a physical, 6'4" centerman with some positional flexibility, and has plenty of playoff experience, winning the Vegas Golden Knights' first Stanley Cup in 2023 after earning his contract with then-career high numbers (39 points, 15 goals, 24 assists) the previous year. Averaging just under 15 minutes per game, throughout his career, Roy's best season was in the 2023-24 season, finishing with 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists).
Last year Roy matched his career high of 15 goals for Vegas, but has been having something of a down year after the move to Toronto. Across 59 games in the blue and white, Roy has just five goals and 15 assists for 20 total points. Roy's main abilities, however, have never been for his pure offensive numbers, and his 52.9 faceoff win % and grinding playstyle should be just what the Avalanche need to wear down their opponents deep in a playoff run.
With a three million dollar cap hit this year and next, the Avalanche are set down the spine of their offense, and can move on to patching any other small holes left on the roster, though the move to acquire Nick Blankenburg as a seventh defenseman on March 4 may indicate the team believes that they have the roster they will carry into the playoffs now. Bankenburg and Roy filled the Avs roster to the full 23 skater limit set by the NHL.
The first round pick sent to Toronto is top 10 protected in 2027 and could be moved further out to 2028 if the Avalanche do fall within the top ten picks of next year's draft. The fifth round pick will be whichever is lowest amongst the Avalanche's three current selections (two were acquired from the Bruins and Flyers in previous trades, as well as still having their own).