As the NHL trade deadline approaches, league-wide chatter continues to intensify, and that means trade proposals galore.
According to Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen, the Avalanche should be looking squarely at the Toronto Maple Leafs to address a glaring need down the middle—specifically by targeting center Nicolas Roy.
For the record, Deen’s assessment is difficult to dispute. At 29 years old, Roy has established himself as a dependable, defensively responsible center well-suited to anchoring a bottom-six role. His $3 million cap hit, which extends through next season, makes him far more than a short-term rental; he is a cost-controlled asset who fits seamlessly within Colorado’s current championship window.
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Beyond the contract value, Roy brings tangible on-ice strengths that directly address the Avalanche’s needs. He is consistently reliable in defensive situations, effective on the penalty kill, and strong in the faceoff circle—areas where Colorado has searched for greater stability throughout the season.
Additionally, Roy provides a physical edge that the Avalanche have lacked at critical moments. He is willing and able to play a hard, confrontational game when necessary, something Colorado sorely missed during last year’s playoff series against the Dallas Stars. That combination of defensive reliability and physical presence makes him the type of player who can influence postseason games when the intensity rises and space disappears.
Collectively, those attributes make Roy an ideal addition for an Avalanche team seeking a meaningful boost as it prepares for the intensity and brutality of the postseason.
Roy, who was drafted ninth overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015, has recorded 73 goals and 113 assists for 186 points across 423 career NHL games. He spent six seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, winning a Stanley Cup during the 2022–23 campaign, before being traded to the Maple Leafs this offseason as part of the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade deal.
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From an analytical standpoint, this is the type of move that checks nearly every box for the Avalanche. But Colorado doesn’t have a lot of leverage here. The best they can offer the Leafs is a third-round pick and it’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers have a vested interest in Roy. And if Edmonton gets involved, they’ll likely win a bidding war.
Moving Roy at this stage would be a silly decision for a Toronto team that remains firmly in the playoff picture. He is precisely the type of player teams rely on when the postseason demands structure, physicality, and defensive detail. Should the Maple Leafs fail to correct course in the near term, exploring a trade would become far more logical. At present, however, Toronto is under no obligation to move him.
That said, if the organization ultimately opts to retool on the fly, the presence of multiple Western Conference contenders bidding for Roy’s services would place the Maple Leafs in a position of significant leverage.
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From this vantage point, retaining Roy remains the preferred course of action. His value to a playoff-bound roster outweighs the short-term benefit of draft capital, particularly for a team with championship aspirations.
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