A lot of topics I touch on here I get from conversations I have with my friends. I really respect their opinions. Most of us don’t know why Derek Roy suddenly has all these haters. He’s arguably been the Sabres best player the last two years and he’s only twenty-five years old. Though most of us don’t agree and are generally pleased with Roy’s play, we do have some idea how Derek Roy can sometimes rub some people the wrong way.
You see, Derek Roy is just like so many of the people we grew up with. He has an ego; A huge ego in fact, and I knew it from the beginning. This video MSG played where Derek Roy showed off his house , MTV cribs style, during an intermission last year was absolutely ridiculous.
For longtime hockey fans, I think Derek Roy is the first we’ve seen of a new generation of hockey athletes. He has a personal assistant and wears Under Armor. He likes video games, fashion, and rap music. That’s different from hockey players of the past. I’m not saying these things are bad. At the end of the day it’s about how the guy plays on the ice, right? And Derek Roy produces. I’ve really been impressed by what he’s been able to do offensively and defensively at such a young age. He’s really talented and although there are times that people question his effort, there have been countless games where Derek Roy has been the only guy on the Sabres that seemed to be giving any effort.
I hate to say it, but his obvious talent and personal success at such a young age has done nothing but fueled his arrogance. Check out the highlights of my favorite Sabres game . Pay close attention to how Roy celebrates the fourth and fifth goal he scored for the Sabres. [Aside: I can't stand Bob Cole, the CBC play-by-play man who has the most bizarre and obnoxious voice inflection and cadence of any play-by-play man in sports. I've listened to this guy since I was like 5-years-old and I've always felt he was an awkward broadcaster.] As for Derek Roy, I have trouble feeling good about a player who celebrates the goals he scores by skating away from his teammates and toward the center of the ice with his arms raised? That just screams ego ego ego.
That game took place in 2006; Roy was 23-years-old. He was almost single handedly beating the mighty Ottawa Senators. Looking back, it feels strange seeing him act like that but back then it didn’t matter because there were older, better players on that team that were leading and more important to the team’s success. When the Sabres decided to commit to Roy and not the veterans of that team, everything changed and his influence on the team was no longer secondary to anyone else.
So here’s the situation: You have a guy who doesn’t seem to buy into any of the old hockey traditions and plays the game like he’s on the high school varsity team. The professional organization he plays for has just financially committed to him instead of an All Star game MVP and a Stanley Cup winning goal scorer.
But you know what, I kind of like Roy’s style in a way. I like a player who has a little arrogance about him and thinks he’s better than everyone else. His stats certainly justify his ego. You would think that a player like Roy would competitively inspire his teammates to play better on a more consistent basis. You would think that some of that swagger and ego that Roy exudes would translate into a collective team outlook, considering he’s become one of the scoring leaders of this team. The fact that he hasn’t had that kind of effect on his teammates leads me to believe that Roy’s swagger is purely individual. That’s not something you want from one of your most important and talented players.
So lets talk trades. Roy has a low cap figure. If he were an unrestricted free agent heading into this off-season, he would probably be looking at a yearly salary and cap hit of somewhere around 6 million. He finished the regular season 39th overall in scoring and he was even better the previous year. But he’s not even in the top 100 in salary. Maybe Derek Roy isn’t a guy to build a winning team around but he can certainly be an integral piece of a winning team.
He has value and in terms of production, he’s a bargain. So if the Sabres are going to consider trading Roy, they need to get a very significant return for him otherwise they should just keep the guy. The Sabres clearly need veteran leaders with talent and if they trade Roy, they will need someone who can come in and fill the scoring void that Roy’s absence will create. The teams that would likely give the Sabres the best return would be handcuffed with a lot of big contracts, for presumably good players, and are close to the cap.
The Sabres would be foolish to trade Roy for draft picks or players younger than Roy because it’s unlikely those assets would develop into a player of Roy’s caliber or Roy’s value (since his cap number is low). Teams should be willing to offer players and assets for 75 cents on the dollar. Just so I’m being clear, the stakes are different for the Sabres because they need a stronger veteran presence. The Sabres, if and when they look for trading partners, should be coveting and placing a higher value on skilled veteran players than other teams typically would.
The only teams I can think of that may be able to offer significant enough returns are San Jose, Detroit and Philadelphia because they are close to the salary cap limit and have expiring contracts for players they would like to keep. I think a trade of Derek Roy for Patrick Marleau would work for both sides especially if San Jose falls apart in the playoffs again.
The Sabres could trade Roy for a defenseman and then try and find some offensive help in free agency. If they wanted to go that route, Nashville could be considered, because Shea Weber is close to Derek Roy’s caliber and age.
From my point of view, I think the stars have to align just right for the Sabres to trade Roy. The Sabres need to get veteran leaders on this team though and if trading Roy is the best way to go about getting a player or two like that, then so be it; I’d be all for it. But Roy’s value on this team shouldn’t be over looked. Although I can certainly imagine how a lot of interest may be out there for Derek Roy, few if any teams will be able to offer the Sabres what they should want in return.
I agree. Yea, he’s got an ego, but he’s a good player. I got to see a hockey game, and I don’t care what his house looks like.