The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2027 conditional first round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2026.

As per the official release by the team, the conditions on the picks are as follows:

The Avalanche’s first-round pick is top 10 protected, so if the Avalanche’s pick lands in the top 10 of next year’s draft, the Maple Leafs will receive an unprotected first-round pick from the Avalanche in 2028. As for the fifth-round pick, the Avalanche currently own three fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft, and the Leafs will receive whichever of the picks is the lowest.

Roy, who was acquired by the Maple Leafs in the sign-and-trade involving Mitch Marner back in June, carries a $3 million cap hit for one more year after this season and will join a Colorado Avalanche team that has been a juggernaut in 2025-26. They have the most points in the NHL by a wide margin, currently sitting at 91 points with a record of 41-10-9, and getting a third-line centre for what appears to be their most serious pursuit of a Stanley Cup since winning it in 2021-22 will give them a significant boost. Roy currently has five goals and 15 assists for 20 points in 59 games thus far.

The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, will regain some draft capital in the midst of what’s been a lost season for them. They were without a 2027 first-round pick at the time of the trade, having dealt it to the Philadelphia Flyers in the trade for Scott Laughton at last year’s trade deadline, and now have an additional fifth-round pick in 2026.

Roy was not one of the three players scratched due to roster management purposes (Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann, Oliver Ekman-Larsson) for Wednesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, which indicates that the Leafs are not done with their moves. More to come on this trade as it develops.

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