The rumors are hot and heavy in the NHL, and with the Carolina Hurricanes lifting the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, it’s time for the offseason to truly begin. It’s rare when teams make trades while the playoffs are still happening, so when the playoffs finally end, there is usually a plethora of moves made that were likely discussed in the previous weeks and months.
We’re already seeing that, with the news coming fast on Tuesday. First, the Flyers and Maple Leafs made a massive trade, sending Joseph Woll to the City of Brotherly Love for prospect Emil Andrae and other pieces on both sides. Then, we learned the Vegas Golden Knights were letting John Tortorella ride off into the sunset after taking his team to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to those Hurricanes.
It was the trade that came at around the end of the workday that will interest Devils fans. The Colorado Avalanche traded bottom-six forward Ross Colton to the Nashville Predators.
Colorado trades Ross Colton and Isak Posch to Nashville for Nashville’s own 3rd round pick in 2026, Colorado’s own 3rd round pick 2027 (previously transferred to Nashville in a prior deal), and Magnus Chrona. https://t.co/APaYqSKEpl
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 16, 2026
Colton was a player that many pegged as an attractive option for the Devils for the same reasons they pushed Johnny Gaudreau and Bobby Ryan there for so many years: he grew up in New Jersey. There is one big difference here. While Ryan and Gaudreau did call New Jersey home, they grew up in South Jersey, so they were Flyers fans.
Colton great up a Devils fan. So, many thought that he could be on his way to his childhood team.
On Tuesday, that dream died once again. His former GM Chris MacFarland acquired the forward for a couple of draft picks. The Avalanche are constantly on salary cap situations with so much top-level talent, so players like Colton have to be expendable.
That’s another reason Devils fans thought Colton could be on the way to New Jersey. He’s a player the Avalanche have to fit while paying Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. A team like Nashville is trying to figure out the best way to compete with older players, so adding the 29-year-old Colton does help.
While it’s not what he probably wanted, Colton gets the chance to play for a team in Nashville hoping to be on the come up. It’s also a no-tax state, so that must be nice.
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