Maple Leafs deal Nic Roy to Avalanche for 2026 and 2027 conditional picks

The Maple Leafs have made a move ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

Toronto dealt centre Nicolas Roy to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday for a conditional first-round pick at the 2027 draft along with a fifth-rounder in June.

In the event the first-round selection falls inside the top 10, the Avalanche would instead send the Maple Leafs their unprotected first-rounder in 2028. Toronto also gets the lowest of Colorado's three picks in the fifth round of the 2026 draft as part of the swap.

The trade signals the first of a series of moves expected ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. ET cutoff by the Maple Leafs, who have woefully underperformed this season and are a long shot to make the playoffs after nine straight appearances.

Roy had five goals and 20 points in 59 games with the Maple Leafs after joining the club as part of a sign-and-trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in the off-season.

The 29-year-old from Amos, Que., who carries a salary cap hit of $3 million US through the 2026-27 season, has put up 73 goals and 186 points in 428 NHL regular-season games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Golden Knights and Maple Leafs.

Selected with the 96th pick at the 2015 draft, Roy won the Stanley Cup with Vegas in 2023 as part of a playoff career that has produced 10 goals and 32 points in 79 contests.

Elsewhere, the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights got centre Nic Dowd from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick, a 2029 second-rounder and young goaltender Jesper Vikman.

Vegas jumped the line in January, before the Olympic break, to pick up defenceman Rasmus Andersson from the Flames. Now general manager Kelly McCrimmon bolstered the roster up front.

Dowd, 35, gives the Golden Knights a penalty