Nicolas Roy traded to Colorado Avalanche as Maple Leafs flip Mitch Marner return
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Daniel Lucente
Mar 5, 2026 (12:15)
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Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs deal Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche, clearing $3.0M AAV and betting their deadline plan can survive the loss of a real third-line center.
Roy is 29, a 2015 fourth-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes, and he is not a rental with term running through 2026-27.
Toronto originally landed Nicolas Roy from Vegas in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade last summer, so this is a fast flip on a key roster plug.
The cap math is clean if there's no retention, and multiple reports had Toronto refusing to eat any of that $3 million.
On the ice, Roy's value is simple, he plays heavy minutes in the middle, wins enough battles, and keeps your top-six from taking every brutal matchup.
For Colorado, he screams "stabilizer," a right-shot option who can handle D-zone draws and still get to the net when the play breaks down.
His 2025-26 line in Toronto sat at 5-15-20 through 59 games, which fits the profile of a playoff bottom-six driver more than a headline scorer.
If you're a Leafs fan, it's hard not to feel that familiar stomach-drop, like the roster just got thinner in the exact role that always matters in April.
Nicolas Roy gives the Colorado Avalanche a matchup line
Colorado can now insulate its stars, because Roy lets them run a true checking unit without punting offense entirely.
That matters next game, too, because coaches shorten the bench when matchups get nasty, and Roy is the kind of center you trust for 45-second shifts that don't implode.
For Toronto, this is either a pivot toward assets or the first domino to reshape the bottom-six around cheaper, faster pieces.
Toronto in return gets a conditional 1st round pick in 2027, and a conditional 5th round pick in 2026.
"In the event Colorado's 2027 first-round selection is in the top-10 of the 2027 NHL Draft, Colorado will send its unprotected 2028 first-round pick to Toronto. Colorado currently holds three fifth-round selections in the 2026 NHL Draft; the lowest of those three picks will be transferred to Toronto as part of the transaction."
- Maple Leafs press release
- Maple Leafs press release
Now, Friday's deadline just got a lot louder in Toronto.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 5|120 ANSWERS Nicolas Roy traded to Colorado Avalanche as Maple Leafs flip Mitch Marner return Should the Toronto Maple Leafs have kept Nicolas Roy? | ||
| Yes | 59 | 49.2 % |
| No | 61 | 50.8 % |
| List of polls | ||