The Blues have reached a one-year, $4 million deal with Derek Roy. The center will officially join the Blues after he takes a physical, as reported by the team’s official site. Roy joins the Blues after spending 2012-13 with both the Dallas Stars and the Vancouver Canucks.
St. Louis: We have a center.
First, let’s stop and give credit to Doug Armstrong for making another sensible decision. Armstrong refrained from giving other centers on the open market larger contracts, instead letting other clubs overpay the few options out there. Armstrong was patient and eventually found an upgrade down the middle for a cheaper price.
With that out of the way, let’s meet the new center for the Blues.
Unlike the team’s other moves over the past couple of days (no offense to Aucoin or Lapierre), Roy is a forward who can play in the team’s top-6. Between Vancouver and Dallas last season, Roy scored 21 points in 42 games. In 2011-12 with Buffalo, he scored 44 points in 80 games. Looking further back, Roy’s numbers have been on a steady decline dating back to 2011-12, but prior to that the forward was averaging close to a point per game between 2007-08 and 2010-11.
This isn’t a huge signing, but it’s an important one for the Blues. The team had to bring in some help up the middle. The other recent signings added some nice depth, but it didn’t address the need for another first or second line center. Roy answers that question and he does so at a fair price.
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