Colton traded to Avalanche by Lightning

Ross Colton was traded to the Colorado Avalanche by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.

The Lightning received a second-round pick (No. 37) in the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft for the 26-year-old forward, who can become a restricted free agent July 1.

Colton had 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 81 regular-season games for the Lightning and four points (one goal, three assists) in six Stanley Cup Playoff games this season.

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Colton scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Lightning against the Montreal Canadiens in 2021.

"Ross is a hard-working, two-way center with a championship pedigree," Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. "He has physicality to his game, is ultra competitive and his versatility will make him a valuable addition to our lineup in a lot of ways."

Selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round (No. 118) of the 2016 NHL Draft, he has 83 points (47 goals, 36 assists) in 190 regular-season games and 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 53 playoff games.

"Ross was a fabulous player for our organization," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "A very popular player, a very popular teammate. He's another success story from our draft team and our development program. He put in the work. It took a lot of time before he even turned pro, then he spent some time in the minors, worked his way into being an NHL regular and a Stanley Cup winner, and scored a huge goal to help us clinch a Stanley Cup in 2021.

"No one can ever erase that and we're really appreciative of the way he went about his business. The way he conducted himself and worked his way into becoming an NHL player, that's role model level stuff for our future prospects."

The trade comes one day after the Avalanche dealt forward Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for a first- and second-round pick in the 2023 draft and defenseman prospect Gianni Fairbrother.

Newhook had 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 82 games this season and one assist in seven playoff games. The 22-year-old forward can become a restricted free agent on July 1.