Toronto Maple Leafs center Nicolas Roy skates against the Capitals on Dec. 18 in Washington. (AP file photo)

With less than 24 hours left before the NHL trade deadline, a few Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference were not waiting until the last minute to get deals done.

The league-best Colorado Avalanche acquired center Nicolas Roy from Toronto, and the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights got center Nic Dowd from Washington. The Minnesota Wild added veteran defenseman Jeff Petry in a swap with back-to-back defending champion Florida.

Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman expects to be done after a handful of moves. Dallas has improved its blue line, but could still add up front. And there are plenty of teams in the East eager to get something done before the clock runs out at 3 p.m. EST today.

Avalanche bigger, deeper

Colorado sent a conditional fifth-round pick this year and a top-10-protected first rounder in 2027 to the Maple Leafs for Roy, who fills a major void with significant size at 6-foot-4. Now 29, he helped Vegas win the Cup in 2023, when depth played a major role in that title run.

“He’s played pretty well for us,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “Tough to see him go, but that’s the situation we’re in.”

Roy should slide in perfectly as the No. 3 center behind leading scorer (at 100 points in 59 games) Nathan MacKinnon and 30-goal scorer Brock Nelson. The position was seen as the biggest need for a group that has been atop the standings since October.

Colorado previously added on the blue line with Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg.

Vegas gets Dowd

Vegas got Dowd from the Capitals for a 2027 third-round pick, a 2029 second rounder and young goaltender Jesper Vikman, a little over six weeks after jumping the line before the Olympic break to pick up defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Flames.

Dowd, 35, gives the Golden Knights a penalty killer and shutdown defender down the middle who can also chip in some offense. He has 16 points and 43 blocked shots in 55 games this season and is under contract through ’26-27 at a reasonable cap hit of $3 million.

The Golden Knights could still target a goaltender.

Wild’s small move

Minnesota’s deadline week has been about getting better on the margins, first with fourth-line center and faceoff ace Michael McCarron from Nashville and now Petry, who’s 38 and provides depth.

The price was just a conditional seventh-round pick that becomes a fifth-rounder if the Wild win two playoff series and Petry plays in 50% or more of their games during those rounds.

Blues’ Parayko declines waiver

Buffalo and St. Louis had agreed to a deal that would send Colton Parayko to the Sabres, pending the defenseman waiving his no-trade clause.

Parayko on Thursday informed them that he was not waiving it, therefore negating the trade, a person familiar with discussions told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Other moves

Trading Dowd signals the Capitals’ intention to at least in part be sellers, sitting four points back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference but having played three more games than Boston, which is in that position. Pending unrestricted free agent forward Brandon Duhaime and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk are also trade candidates for Washington.

Plenty of other teams who declared they’re open for business are awaiting more deals. Vincent Trocheck remains with the New York Rangers, and coach Mike Sullivan was noncommittal about whether the center, whose name is atop many trade boards, would play Thursday night against Toronto.

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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL