The Avalanche also acquired forward Nicolas Roy from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and defenseman Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 draft.
“Nic Roy is a big, right-handed centerman that can play wing,” Colorado GM Chris MacFarland said. “[Coach Jared Bednar] can use him in a lot of different ways. He’s a big body. We’re obviously very familiar with him specifically from his days in Vegas when we butted heads with them. He gives the coaching staff a lot of different matchup scenarios that allows [Bednar] to play whether it’s [Kadri] in the middle, [Kadri] on the wing, Nic Roy on the wing, in the middle. You just can’t have enough centermen and defensemen as well.
“We feel like the addition of the two guys is, we’re very skilled in the middle of the ice and they also can all check and check real well. We think it makes us harder to play against in any type of game, so we’re super excited to have both of them in the mix here today.”
Calgary also acquired forward Ryan Strome from the Anaheim Ducks on Friday for a seventh-round pick in the 2027 draft. The 32-year-old has nine points (three goals, six assists) in 33 games this season.
Strome is in the fourth year of a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million average annual value) and can become an UFA after next season.
Selected by the New York Islanders with the No. 5 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Strome has 489 points (169 goals, 320 assists) in 897 regular-season games for the Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Ducks and 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 37 playoff games.
“I was looking for a center and I’ve heard unbelievable things about Ryan and with the type of person he is,” Conroy said. “For whatever reason, it wasn’t working out for him there, but I’ll tell you, when I called him he’s pretty excited and he’s going to do everything in his power to be at that game tomorrow (against the Carolina Hurricanes). When I hear that, that makes me feel good. He’s looking forward to showing, ‘Hey, look I’m a good player and I’m going to show you that in Calgary,’ so he’s glad to be a part of this.”
The Flames also acquired forward Brennan Othmann from the New York Rangers for forward prospect Jacob Battaglia. Othmann, a 23-year-old forward, has one goal in 17 games this season and three points (one goal, two assists) in 42 NHL games. He is in the final year of his entry-level contract and can become a restricted free agent after the season.
Battaglia, 19, has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 36 games for Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League this season.
NHL.com independent correspondent Laurence Heinen contributed to this report