Lightning Trade Ross Colton to Avalanche

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nicholas Paul (20) celebrates his goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs with forward Michael Eyssimont (23) and forward Ross Colton (79) during the third period of Game 5 Thursday night in Toronto.
Photo Credit: Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP

In an offseason that has been fairly quiet until recently, the Tampa Bay Lightning made their first move around noon on Wednesday, June 28.

First reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Twitter, the Lightning have traded forward Ross Colton to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2023 second round draft pick (37th overall).

A restricted free agent this summer, general manager Julien Brisebois made this move to free up some cap space. With that, he expects to be able to get one of Tanner Jeannot, or Alex Killorn re-signed. There’s an outside chance both can be re-signed, though that’s probably a long shot.

Colton, 26, was drafted in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut early in the shortened 56 game 2020-21’ season, scoring a goal on his first shot in a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

He then followed that up by scoring the biggest goal of his career to date. On July 7, 2021, Colton received a pass from trade deadline acquisition David Savard and buried the puck past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price. That stood as the game winner, as the Lightning captured their second straight Stanley Cup.

In the 2021-22’ season, Colton scored 22 goals and had 39 points in 79 games played. He was fairly responsible in his own end as well, with a plus-4 rating.

The second round of the playoffs were where he shined, though, taking a perfect pass from Nikita Kucherov behind the net and beating Sergei Bobrovsky with mere seconds left to give the Lightning a 2-1 win and 2-0 series lead. They went on to sweep the Florida Panthers in four games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Last season, Colton struggled a bit while playing on the third line. He still scored 16 goals and 32 points, but his minus-8 rating left room for improvement.

With Colton out, prospects Cole Koepke and Gabriel Fortier have a chance to finally crack the Lightning lineup. The team loses a clutch player with room to grow, though, which could be a big blow to the Bolts going forward.

In saying that, the Avalanche get a great player who can play anywhere in the lineup for a draft pick that originally belonged to Montreal and was traded to Colorado on June 27, 2023.

Lightning nation wants to thank Ross Colton for all the memories. Best of luck in the Mile High city!


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Lauren Burg

Lauren Burg is a Tampa Bay Lightning writer for “Inside the Rink.” A lifelong Tampa Bay Area resident, she graduated from the University of South Florida’s world-renowned journalism program in December 2009. While in college, she discovered hockey and the Tampa Bay Lightning. She quickly became a passionate fan, attending many games over the years. She also experienced an All-Star game in 2018, numerous road games, and, most recently, the Bolts back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Since graduating college, she’s been working hard to combine her two loves, writing and hockey, hoping to one day make that her full-time career. In her free time, she enjoys attending sporting events (both home & road when possible), taking photos, and traveling.

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