Sabres Sign Roy to Six-Year Deal
 

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have agreed to terms on a six-year deal with restricted free agent center Derek Roy. Roy was scheduled for NHL arbitration today in Toronto.

“Derek is a solid young player who will only continue to improve,” said Regier. “He will play an increased role for our club, and we look forward to having such a quality player in our organization for many years to come.”

Roy, 24, was fifth on the Sabres in scoring last season, posting career highs in points (63), goals (21) and assists (42) in 75 games. Roy was second on the Sabres and tied for fourth in the NHL with a plus/minus of +37. Fifteen of Roy’s 21 goals came in the second half of the season, as he missed seven games in the first half with a hand injury.

The native of Ottawa, Ontario, tied his career high with four points (1+3) against Montreal on March 2, and collected 11 points (4+7) in a career-best six-game point streak from Feb. 17-Mar. 2. Roy also had seven points (2+5) in Buffalo’s 16 postseason contests.

Roy, Buffalo’s second-round selection (32nd overall) in the 2001 Entry Draft, had a stellar four-year career with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League where he scored 335 points (147+188) in 242 games. In 2003 Roy captained the Rangers to a Memorial Cup title, and was named tournament MVP. Roy also won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2003 World Junior Championships.

I like this guy, and I think the Sabres made a smart move locking him up long term, but I thought they might have been able to get him signed for a little less cash.

Is 4Mil per becoming the average NHL salary ?

At least Roy is a young player who's been productive for Buffalo. The Sabres are going to be a much different looking team on offense this year, but I think they can still get the job done. We'll see how Roy's numbers are. I do think it's a lot for him, but he could develop into that money by the contract's end. If he doesn't get any better, he's definitely being overpaid.

The price does seem pretty high for a guy that only scored 21 goals last year, but if the Sabres needed to get this deal done then I think it was worth it. They lost Drury, Briere, and Zubrus this off-season so they just need to do anything they can to keep the young guys like Roy, Vanek, Afinogenov, and Stafford.... so this was a good signing by Buffalo. I think Roy should have a great career in the NHL.

You also have to remember that he 42 assists and was a plus 37. He's known as a 2-way center with a "pass first" mentality.

What about Hartnell. Or Gomez.

Although he was restricted and not a UFA.

Great deal by the Sabres. I can definitely see him becoming a great 2-way foward who puts up 80 points. He'll get much more PP time with Briere and Drury gone and he'll be playing #1 line minutes with Vanek.

This one will look like a major bargain soon.

I think its a good deal for the Sabres. Think about the way salaries are going up, if they sign him to a 1 year deal, and he puts up these same numbers, or adds 10 points - he's a $6 million player. Now, no matter his production, he is locked into $4 mill a year. The only issue, hopefully he'll actually keep playing at that level, and not go south after hitting a big payday.

It's scary how much that happens. Contract year usually means career year for most guys.

He will be relied on to put in even bigger numbers this season with the loss of Briere and Drury. He'll do good on the PP. My knock on him is his size and lack of hitting.

Roy should do fine. 4 mil a year though? I wish my paycheck could inflate as fast as an NHL players did since the lockout.

The terms seem reasonable for the times I guess. IMO Good signing by the Sabe's.

We had to sign Roy or fans would have been even more pissed off.4mil seems high but every player on the Sabres was asking for way more money then what they are worth.I have been watching Roy from the first time he became an Amerk.He made his way up to the Sabres and has played about the same way every year.The thing I like most about Roy is his ability to draw penalitys and annoy the aposing team.Hopefully he can Score closer to 30 goals,but I don't know.I don't think he's a first line center maybe second line.I would put Connolly with Maxi and V-nek on the first line.

A great deal for the Sabres as Roy is a quality player. While I think within the 6 years, Roy will develop into a $4+ mil player, now that is simply too much. It's just yet another sign that the league continues to go in the wrong direction. The cap has risen $11 million since the lockout and if things continue in this direction, the smaller teams will find themselves priced out and it will take another lockout to get the league where it needs to be.

Sorry for the soap box. Good job, Darcy.

Since Briere and Drury are gone, Roy will be the next Buffalo superstar.