TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning announced Wednesday they are trading forward Ross Colton to the Colorado Avalanche.
Colton, who was drafted in the fourth round, No. 118, of the 2016 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut in 2020 with the Lighting, has played in the league for three seasons.
The Bolts made the trade in exchange for a second-round pick, No. 37 overall, in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the team said in a release.
According to the NHL, he scored a goal on his first and only shot of his NHL debut on Feb. 24, 2021. It was the game-winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes, the NHL said.
He and Nikita Kucherov are the only Lightning players in the team's history to score a game-winning goal during their first professional game.
Shortly before the Lightning made the news official, several sports insiders reported hearing the trade rumors. Peter Baugh, who covers the Avalanche for The Athletic, tweeted just after 11 a.m. that he could confirm Colton was "heading to Colorado from Tampa Bay," crediting Elliotte Friedman as the one who first reported it.