NHL Trade Deadline: Maple Leafs Set Price for Nicolas Roy, Potential Departures Loom
As the NHL trade deadline approaches, the Toronto Maple Leafs are actively gauging interest in forward Nicolas Roy, and have reportedly set a significant price for his services. According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, the Leafs are seeking a first-round pick and a prospect in exchange for the Quebec native.
Seravalli also notes that Toronto is unwilling to retain any portion of Roy’s $3 million salary. The 29-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract. Roy arrived in Toronto as part of the trade that sent Mitch Marner to Vegas last summer. In 58 games with the Leafs, he has recorded five goals and 20 points, maintaining an even plus/minus rating.
Potential Departures for the Maple Leafs
Meanwhile, forwards Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson may have played their final games in a Maple Leafs uniform. All three players were healthy scratches for Wednesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils, just two days before the trade deadline.
Head coach Craig Berube had earlier stated that no players would be scratched before the deadline, making this move a clear indication of potential trades. McMann (29) and Laughton (31) are both slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.
McMann has been the more productive of the two, with 19 goals and 32 points in 60 games. He is on pace to reach the 20-goal mark for the second consecutive season and carries a cap hit of $1.35 million. Laughton, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on March 7, 2025, in exchange for Nikita Grebenkin and a first-round pick in 2027, has not lived up to expectations in Toronto, registering just 18 points in 76 games (including playoffs).
Because the Flyers retained 50% of Laughton’s $3 million salary at the time of the trade, he has a $1.5 million cap hit for the Leafs this season.
Ekman-Larsson, 34, presents an intriguing option for teams seeking defensive help. He’s enjoying his best offensive season since 2018-19 with the Arizona Coyotes, with 35 points in 61 games. The Swedish defenseman, a Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers in 2024, is not simply a rental player, as he is under contract for the next two seasons at an annual salary of $3.5 million.
Avalanche Acquire Blankenburg
In other trade deadline news, the Colorado Avalanche have acquired defenseman Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft. The Predators now possess 12 picks in the 2027 draft: 4 in the third round, 2 in the fourth, and 5 in the fifth, plus one pick in each of the first, second, sixth, and seventh rounds.
Blankenburg has recorded 6 goals and 15 assists in 49 games with Nashville this season. Earlier on Wednesday, the Predators also announced that defenseman Viggo Gustafsson has signed a three-year entry-level contract. The 19-year-old registered seven assists in 38 games with AIK in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest hockey league.
Official NHL Website provides further coverage of the trade deadline.
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