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The NHL Trade Deadline is like Christmas to a hockey pundits and supposed "insiders" everywhere (or at least one particular "insiderr"). Rumors fly around everywhere so fast and get repeated so many times that eventually it's like playing one massive game of telephone and everything gets screwed up to the point where you have a migraine and nobody wins except those insiders who all claim they broke the story first.
I love it.
Last year as Ducks fans, we all dreaded what might happen leading up to the trade deadline as the Ducks were just starting to scratch and claw their way back into the playoff hunt and rumors were swirling around Bobby Ryan faster than... well faster than usual.
This year is pretty much a complete-180. Rather than the gossip targeting who could be leaving the Ducks this year it's turned to who could be joining them and I like that so much more, don't you?
So with the deadline set for Apr. 3 at noon Pacific (read: soon), let's take a look at yet another potential deadline target for GM Bob Murray and the Anaheim Ducks.
In my two previous editions, I've taken a look at Jarome Iginla (obviously no longer a possibility after his historic trade to Pittsburgh on Wednesday) and Mike Ribeiro.
This week, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Derek Roy.
Before you start asking why so many of my potential targets have a connection to the Dallas Stars somehow, there's already some momentum in the rumor mills behind this one.
Not long ago, TSN's Pierre LeBrun inked the two teams together when he wrote:
Derek Roy is a guy that [Dallas] have tried to sign over the last couple of weeks and it hasn't gone anywhere. You start to think if the Stars slip out they might move him. I think they will and the Anaheim Ducks are a team to watch here. They're looking for a No. 2 centre. People are saying they are going to trade Bobby Ryan after signing Corey Perry. It's the contrary – they're keeping Ryan and they want to add a No. 2 centre. Roy kind of fits the bill if they can get a deal done with Dallas.
Since then, there have been the few occasional reminders (mostly from LeBrun himself) that the Ducks could very likely be looking to boost their strength down the middle of the ice and give our second line a true designated center to hold down the fort with what I hope would be Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan.
The need is definitely there.
The Ducks have now lost four straight games, three of which in absolutely embarrassing fashion. In all four losses, the Ducks surrendered two or more goals within the first ten minutes of the game. The once frightening power play has gone completely anemic, and the Ducks have been outscored 16-5. Quite honestly, nothing is working.
The offense which powered our running train for the first thirty games appears to have run out of fuel. Ryan Getzlaf, who gave us superstar performances every night for the first 30 games of the season, has really been nothing better than "just okay" in each of the four losses. Perry, Selanne, and Ryan have been almost completely invisible. And the depth scoring that really pushed us along has pretty much dried up as well (unless your name is Emerson Etem).
It appears Boudreau's constant line-shuffling has finally just stumped his players as the chemistry has gone completely flat.
In an effort to let it re-develop, I'm saying a trade for a solid, veteran second-line center is necessary at this point. Bob Murray has got to do something to help re-ignite this offense and break the Ducks out of this slump.
Enter Mr. Roy.
Selected very early in the second round of the 2001 NHL entry draft, Roy has been a solid depth player who really broke out while playing with the Buffalo Sabres.
Roy was sent to the Stars this past July in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy, a trade Ducks fans are perfectly okay with; Steve Ott is more than welcome to remain as far away from Anaheim as humanly possible.
Since joining Dallas, Roy has struggled somewhat. On one hand he's found it extremely difficult to stay healthy. ost recently a groin issue kept him out for five games. Likewise, he has a history of problems with his shoulder, including having serious surgery last summer that he recovered from just in time for the start of this shortened season. But mostly he's been unable to rediscover the form that saw him register 81 points in 2007-08, and then 70 the following year due to the rather disappointing struggles of the team he plays for. Even after bringing in Roy as well as superstar Jaromir Jagr over the summer and fellow veteran Erik Cole in mid-season, Dallas currently sits in tenth in the conference on 33 points, three points behind eighth place San Jose. That leaves Dallas GM Joe Niewindyk with some extremely difficult, imminent decisions. Dallas has expressed interest in re-signing Roy, however contract negotiations have failed to find any sort of traction at all, leaving a very strong possibility that Roy walks away this offseason. That or, more likely, he gets dealt beforehand to a team looking to contend. The Stars are on their way down. They have missed the playoffs each of the last three seasons, and despite being right in the thick of things for the majority of each of those years, they've come up just short every time. Now it appears their time has run out. Dallas dealt away longtime captain Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh in exchange for prospect Joe Morrow and a fifth round pick in the upcoming draft. Despite having talent in the budding Jamie Benn and a solid netminder in Kari Lehtonen, Dallas just can't consistently get it done night after night (unless they're playing Anaheim for some reason) and sadly it appears just about every key piece this team possesses has been used up (except maybe goaltender Jack Campbell). It appears as though it's just about time for Dallas to hit the rebuild button. If they decide to keep Jamie Benn (which they should) they won't need to shed too much. Erik Cole, Ray Whitney, Alex Goligoski, and Trevor Daley are their only really sizeable contracts that extend past this summer, and some of these guys could garner a pretty good price from a team looking to bring in some veteran experience. So the setting is right for the Ducks to reach out and bring him in. I'm all for it. However it's going to be trickier than it would have been, say... a week ago. With the re-signing of Perry and Getzlaf as well as the trades of big-time pieces, Morrow and Iginla, almost all of the big names that could be had at the trade deadline are now gone. With such a high number of buyers and extremely low number of sellers, the price for these players is going to be super high. Supply and demand. See, I did pay attention in Economics class (for all of five minutes...). Thus, the number of teams that are going to be courting Dallas for Roy's services is likely going to be high and the Ducks are going to have to offer a pretty fat pig if they want to win the hand of their maiden from her father. (That's a Holes reference in case you missed it.) Roy is a depth guy, is somewhat injury prone, and is going to likely be a UFA in the summer, all of which can bring his price down somewhat but I still don't see him going for anything less than a first-round pick and a mid-level prospect, or a second-rounder and an elite prospect/NHL ready player like Peter Holland or Patrick Maroon. That's a tough bargain to give up. If I were the Ducks, I'd open the conversation with the former of those two options. This year's draft is likely to be extremely deep so Dallas will still be interested, even if that pick could possibly come as far as 25th or later. Likewise, the Ducks scouting has taught me something: have patience. They're finding pretty good players in Europe and Murray has shown shrewdness in his ability to draft them late in rounds. Plus I think Dallas would be thrilled to acquire a prospect such as Kevin Roy. And yes, I do think it would be awesome if we had Morrow-for-Morrow and Roy-for-Roy trades in the same deadline. [Ed. Note: It's also interesting to note that the Ducks play Dallas Apr. 1 and Apr. 3 (aka Deadline Day). If this happens, Roy could be facing his old teammates within hours of being traded. -CK] The line combos sound pretty. Palmieri-Getzlaf-Perry Ryan-Roy-Selanne Winnik-Koivu-Cogliano Etem-Bonino-Beleskey Staubitz/Dvorak as needed. No bash on Peter Holland's game as he's been great up in the big club and deserves to stay just as much as any until Nick Bonino is healthy again, but once that happens I think he's better served helping Norfolk make their playoff push. So there are my thoughts. Should the Ducks spring for it and gamble a bit on their future, or should they stand pat on the lineup they've got? As I said previously, holding with what they've got doesn't really inspire much confidence right now, particularly after they've been dismantled so easily in their last four games. If this team wants to find a way back to winning, then changes need to be made and I think Roy could prove to be just the shot this team needs to wake up and get back on the horse.