Forward Derek Roy is in Washington Capitals camp on a PTO.
Former Oilers forward Derek Roy joined the Washington Capitals on a PTO http://t.co/rY22LkZhg1 pic.twitter.com/qDmEy3VFmY
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 14, 2015
Roy could be insurance if Caps star centre Nicklas Backstrom isn’t ready to go for a little bit, due to his off-season surgery.
Roy, 32, has spent 11 seasons in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers. In 738 career games, Roy has posted 189 goals and 524 points, while adding 7 goals and 27 points in 49 post-season games. The first eight seasons of his career were spent in Buffalo, where he posted career-highs in goals (32), assists (49) and points (81), all in the 2007-08 season. It would mark the only time the Ottawa-native center would hit 80 points in his career, while hitting the 60 and 70 point plateaus once each as well.
Roy signed with Dallas for the 2012-13 season but did not complete his year with the Stars. He was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks after he posted 22 points in 30 games, finishing up his season with the Canucks and posting 6 points in 12 games. He spent the last three seasons of his career as a journeyman, suiting up for five different teams. While he posted 37 points in 75 games with the St. Louis Blues, the following season, he split the 2014-15 season with the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers.
His experience with the Oilers was a good one, as the undersized center put up 11 goals and 22 points in 46 games, in a complimentary role. Following the season’s end, there were talks between the two camps regarding bringing Roy back for the next season, however with the hire of new General Manager Peter Chiarelli, those talks quickly died down. With the uprise of young, promising prospects that make up for the depth down the middle, Roy found himself on the outside looking in.
He’s posted relatively good possession numbers over his career, with his time in Edmonton being one of the only exceptions to his record. Roy has also gone from averaging 19-20 minutes in Buffalo, to getting around 14-16 minutes per game, while averaging more offensive-zone starts. In fact, both Nashville and Edmonton deployed him in favorable offensive-zone starts for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Roy’s post-season looks a tad different from his regular-season reputation, as he has received 59.5% defensive-zone deployment in the last two playoff runs with the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues. His possession stats are not too admirable, but the sample size for both those appearances runs just four games long. He did go from playing 17 minutes with Vancouver to a measly 12 minutes with the Blues, so he could expect to be a complimentary, serviceable player with his new team if he can make it.
