The Colorado Avalanche have acquired forward Brock Nelson and AHL winger William Dufour from the New York Islanders. In return, the Islanders have received top prospect Calum Ritchie, a conditional 2026 or 2027 first-round pick, a conditional 2028 third-round pick, and depth defenseman Oliver Kylington. New York has retained half of Nelson’s $6MM cap hit, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The deal was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
In a corresponding move, the Islanders have sent Kylington to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future considerations. Nelson’s retained $3MM cap hit will take Colorado up to the cap ceiling. Moving Kylington opens $1.05MM in cap space for the Avalanche. The Islanders opt to flip the defender rather than add to their heap of recent blue-line additions, including Scott Perunovich and Adam Boqvist.
The Avalanche have landed a big fish on the eve of the Trade Deadline. Nelson has been with the Islanders for all 12 years of his career and continues to stand as a pillar of the lineup through this season. He was tied for the Islanders scoring lead this season, with 20 goals and 43 points in 61 games. Nelson also made Team USA’s 4-Nations Face-Off roster, though he didn’t post any scoring in four games. The Islanders were said to be working on finding an extension for Nelson up until the final moments. Instead, they opt to send him across the league in a deal that will likely price Colorado out of any further deadline moves. The Avalanche will carry just $1.337MM in cap space after this move, per PuckPedia.
New York originally drafted Nelson 30th overall in the 2010
NHL Draft. He played through his first pro season two years later and instantly stood apart from the rest. Nelson led the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in scoring with 52 points in 66 games as an AHL rookie. He followed that standout performance by carving out an NHL role in the 2013-14 season, stamped by 14 goals and 26 points in 72 games. With his feet under him, Nelson broke out with 42 points in his sophomore year – and quickly became one of the league’s most consistent and reliable second-line forwards. He played in 81 or 82 games in all five season between 2014 and 2019 – rivaling 20 goals and 40 points in every season.
It was Nelson who succeeded star John Tavares’ role as the Islanders’ top-line center after the latter left ahead of the 2018-19 season. Nelson’s scoring has only grown since he took over the top-line role. He scored 53 and 54 points in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The shortened 2020-21 season slowed him down a bit – with 33 points in 56 games, or an 82-game pace of 48 points. But Nelson has made up for the slump by finding an extra gear over the last four seasons. He scored a career-high 37 goals and 59 points in 72 games of the 2021-22 season. That was followed with 36 goals and a career-high 75 points in 2022-23. And he stayed at his new standard with 34 goals and 69 points last year.
Nelson has hit his stride as he enters his mid-30s. He’s on pace for 26 goals and 58 points this season, and should only find a greater boost in what’s sure to be a top-six role with the Avalanche. Colorado ranks eighth in the league with a 3.24 goals-per-game average. Their second line is flanked by Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin on the wings, who should support Nelson’s slowing style well. Nelson will likely step ahead of Casey Mittelstadt in the lineup, bumping Mittelstadt to the third-line after scoring 11 goals and 34 points in 62 games this season. That’s exactly the depth Colorado will need to push for another long run in what’s shaping up to be a tough postseason.
Joining Nelson in the move to Colorado is AHL winger William Dufour. Dufour has 18 points in 45 games with Bridgeport this season – continuing his gradual decline in scoring since his rookie AHL season. Dufour broke into the minors in the 2022-23 season and scored a hot 21 goals and 48 points in 69 games. That scoring earned him his NHL debut, though he didn’t manage any scoring. Dufour fell to 15 goals and 25 points last year, and is now on pace for just 22 points this year.
Meanwhile, the Islanders will land a heap in return. Calum Ritchie was confidently Colorado’s top prospect and made the NHL roster out of training camp at the start of this season. He scored one goal in seven games to start the season, but was returned to the OHL before Colorado burned a full year of his contract. He’s been fantastic ever since, with 14 goals and 67 points in 41 games as the Oshawa Generals captain. Colorado drafted Ritchie with the 27th-overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, after he posted 59 points in 59 OHL games in his draft year. He followed it with a confident 80 points last year, and is on narrow pace to beat that total this year.
Ritchie could enter the Islanders system with a very clear path towards NHL minutes as soon as he’s ready. Nelson’s departure opens nearly 19 minutes of nightly ice time. The Islanders can distribute that between Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Casey Cizikas, and Kyle MacLean through the end of the regular season, but they’ll need a much hardier depth option to stay competitive next year. Ritchie could be exactly that, after getting a taste of the NHL next to stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar earlier this year. Ritchie has sturdy size at six-foot-three and 190-pounds – and he had a few flashes of upside in his brief NHL minutes. A clear opportunity could be exactly the set up he needs to work towards a strong pro breakout.
If not, the Islanders will be able to lean on a first-round selection in either the 2026 or 2027 drafts. Both classes are expected to be strong through the first round, headlined by seemingly generational talents Gavin McKenna and Landon DuPont respectively, each backed by their own string of other strong prospects. It could prove lucrative holding Colorado’s future draft capital, as they age up significantly with this Nelson deal. It’s clear the Avalanche are pushing for competition this year Nelson will fill the strong top-six role Colorado is looking for, while New York makes a clear and confident bet towards their future.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.