Derek Roy Is Done in Nashville

Derek Roy’s time in the Music City is coming to a close. The 5’9, 184lbs center was placed on waivers Sunday following the annual holiday roster freeze. The Predators entered Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers with 24 men on the roster, one more than allowed but acceptable during the roster freeze. With the roster freeze ending later that night, general manager David Poile assigned Viktor Stalberg in Milwaukee after clearing waivers on December 19 and place Roy on waivers.

Roy, 31, was signed to a 1-year, $1 million contract as a free agent in July. A low risk, high reward contract is perfect for many teams in the League looking to solidify their depth up the middle.

Because Roy will no longer be a Predator in the near future, the next team he plays for will be his 5th team in 3 seasons.

The Predators decided to take chance on Roy so he could reestablish himself in the League. However, a return of center Mike Fisher from injury and a lack of offensive production — 1 goal, 9 assists in 26 games — squeezed him out of the lineup. The last time Roy played was on December 20 in a game where he received just 7:37 of time on ice against the Minnesota Wild. He faced a similar situation in St. Louis last season. Playing with Vancouver and Dallas (combined) during the shortened 2012-13 season, Roy averaged 18:36 of time on ice per game. The following season in St. Louis, his average ice time per game dropped to 13:37.

“I was always used to playing 19-20 minutes and then to get down to 10-13, that was tough,” Roy said in July. “That’s one of things I looked at in the summer, going somewhere where I could play and get back to player that I used to be. Nashville was one of the teams.”

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

If Roy somehow goes unclaimed by 29 other NHL teams, Poile will have to conjure a trade. Despite being passed on in waivers, Roy could still be moved. It would be a deal that would be completely one sided and takes a bad contract off the hands of another team, but a trade nonetheless.