Good return, without retention. Tidy work.
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Maple Leafs fans react to the Nicolas Roy trade
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Mar 5, 2026, 17:00 EST
The Toronto Maple Leafs finally made their first move ahead of the trade deadline by sending forward Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2027 conditional first-round pick and a 2026 conditional fifth-round pick.
Given how long it had been since the last time the Leafs made a deal, getting back some picks to begin their restock of the cupboard was a good start to the retool. There is still plenty left for GM Brad Treliving to do between now and the 3 p.m. deadline on Friday, but it is clear that the Roy move is the first domino to fall in what should be plenty more to come.
With that said, we asked you on social media what your thoughts were on the Roy trade and here are the highlights.
The reported asking price for Roy without retention was a first and a prospect, and the Leafs were able to get the most important part of that price in the first round pick. While there are conditions on the two picks received, kudos to Treliving to sticking to his price and getting what he wanted.
He got a first round pick for effectively Marner.
Roy was the player the Leafs got back in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade last summer and the trade tree is already starting to bear fruit. It remains to be seen what they will do with the first-rounder, but the team could be getting a lot more value back from trading Marner than initially thought.
B We could have got more with ret but this is a pretty good return for 1.5 years of Roy Would have preferred keeping him as I think with the new coach and system probs happening 26-27 he would have rebounded
It’s fair to wonder how much more the Leafs would have gotten back had they opted to retain a bit of Roy’s contract in the trade. Either way, it’s hard to complain about the fact that the team was able to get back a first-round pick for a player that wasn’t a perfect fit.
My thoughts? This better not be it! Keep it moving, Brad!
As mentioned earlier, Treliving still has plenty of work left to do and there is a good chance this won’t be the only move made before the deadline. But there is not much time left and the Leafs can’t wait too long to pull the trigger on their deals.
I still want Tre and Berube gone by the summer if not sooner!!
There will still be plenty of skeptics of the work that Treliving and Craig Berube have done, even if the Leafs have a successful trade deadline period from a retooling standpoint. As long as they remain employed by the team, all we can do is root for them to succeed.
Delighted he got a 1st rounder. But it shows how badly Tre screwed up last year when he didn't secure more top 10 draft protection.
In the grand scheme of things, this season has been an epic failure, and not many could have envisioned that the Leafs would be in this position less than a year after their deepest playoff run since 2002. But plans have changed, and they have no choice but to pivot to being sellers at the deadline.
We want to hear from you: what are your thoughts on the Nicolas Roy trade?
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