It is that time of the year again and the trade rumors are swirling. The next victim of the trade buzz happens to be Derek Roy. Roy has caught some bad luck, as he has battled through some injuries in an attempt to find his game again. Roy is being shopped, according to some very credible sources in the hockey media.

Here is an excerpt from the Buffalo News that contains some more information on Roy’s trade status.

Now there’s this: Roy is the hottest name in the rumor mill if the Sabres make a trade.

There are all kinds of rumors out there, most of them from little-known websites lacking much credibility.

But it’s quite a bit different when your name gets mentioned on “Hockey Night in Canada.”

Roy getting dangled was the word on Saturday night’s telecast from longtime HNIC reporter Elliotte Friedman and again in his weekly “30 Thoughts” column posted Monday on the network’s website.

“It’s fine. It’s whatever people say,” Roy said. “You can’t worry about it and do anything about it. You have to go out and play your game. Everyone here is trying to do their job, whether it’s stopping the puck, playing defense and scoring goals. We all have to do our part.

“[Sabres management] pieced together a puzzle where they thought everybody was going to do their job and play hard and that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to piece this puzzle together and work with each other.”

The Anaheim Ducks are believed to have looked at both Roy and Drew Stafford when General Manager Bob Murray was in town in late November. Roy’s name is getting more attention lately because his contract has only one more year to run at a salary of $5.5 million but a reasonable cap hit of just $4 million.

This situation is interesting. The Buffalo Sabres are a team that has talented players like Roy, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Miller and various others.

However, if Roy were to be dealt, where would he go? When reading that Anaheim was interested in Roy and Stafford, you can assume that Bobby Ryan would likely be involved in the trade.

It would address Anaheim’s requirement of receiving a core player, and it would free up some cap space. However I would expect that other teams would have some interest in Roy.

Roy is a very good player who just hasn’t found his groove after battling injuries. When you miss significant amounts of time and break your rhythm  it can be difficult to hit your stride.

Roy’s career highs include 81 points and 32 goals, though typically, he is about a 60 to 65 points guy. Roy should generate a lot of interest for a team that is looking for a No. 2 center. His cap hit is lower than most, and he has a high ceiling.

It will be interesting to see how quickly things develop in Buffalo as the trade deadline approaches.

 

Tom Urtz, Jr. is an NHL featured columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players:

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