How The Sabres’ Delay On Trading Roy Paid Off

After a dismal season for the  Sabres and Derek Roy, it became apparent his time in Buffalo was nearing an end. After an ugly year end interview it became a matter of when. The only hiccup was what the Sabres could get in return for Roy. Based on what the Sabres were able to get in return, the value just wasn’t there. Instead of trading Roy plus valuable prospects, GM Darcy Regier played it smart and looked for a replacement through the draft.

Regier got lucky.  The perfect prospect to replace Roy fell right in his lap. Drafting 12th overall he was able to select NHL ready centreman Mikhail Grigorenko. Grigorenko has drawn many comparisons to Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin and should turn out to be a better player than Roy once he develops his game. After Regier traded up for the 14th pick in the draft, he was able to select another centre in Zemgus Girgensons. If Girgensons is given the proper time to develop he should be able to put up numbers similar to Roy’s if not better. Taking both Grigorenko and Girgensons set the Sabres up at the centre position for years to come.

After the first round in the draft the Sabres restocked their depth at centre. Cody Hodgson, Tyler Ennis, Derek Roy, Cody McCormick, Matt Ellis, and Luke Adam are just six of the centres who have played a game for the Sabres.  Add Grigorenko and Girgensons to that mix there are now eight capable centres. Having eight ready centres with more waiting in the AHL gave Regier a little room to play with and the option to trade Roy and be okay with a lesser return.

Had Regier “jumped the gun” and traded Roy before the draft would have necessitated giving up more key pieces to acquire a number one centre than they were willing to part with. Letting go of too much via trade would have hurt the Sabres and set them back. Instead of losing too much the Sabres didn’t have to give up anything and landed two solid prospects who will no doubt help in the future.

While Steve Ott a gritty 3rd/4th line centre/winger isn’t exactly what fans had in mind when using Roy as trade bait, it’s a decent return that adds more character to the forwards.

By waiting till after the draft the Sabres were able to add two key pieces which one day will fill Roy’s place in the lineup in Grigorenko and Girgensons which made him expendable in the lineup and help to build a brighter Sabres future. Since the 2004-2005 lockout the Buffalo Sabres have done a complete face lift, with Roy now gone there are only two players left on the roster from 2004 are Ryan Miller and Jason Pominville. Miller played just 18 games before the lockout, far cry from his 60 games now. Perhaps the Sabres are moving towards a youth movement. Getting rid of players who don’t want to compete hard and bringing in young enthusiastic players who play with heart and passion.

5 thoughts on “How The Sabres’ Delay On Trading Roy Paid Off”

  1. Also now Roy all of a sudden needs to have shoulder surgery. Who knows how long it will take Roy to gel with his new team. Also now that he won’t even be ready to play until late Nov. It looks like Buffalo wins this trade. Good job getting rid of the injury prone Roy for a guy who will make the whole team better by his style of play and heart he brings to the team. I can’t wait for this season to start. Also they still need to grab a top 6 forward. Hopefully they can pull off a nice trade soon. Doan would be nice. Even Arnott on a 1 yr deal would be nice so they can have Grigerenko play in the AHL for a year so they don’t rush him. Girgenson is looking good in training camp to.

  2. This isn’t accurate. Ryan Miller played 48 games in 05-06 for the Sabres, and amassed 30 wins. Other players who are left from the 05-06 team include Vanek who played 81 games that season and amassed 48 points, and Pominville who played 57 games that season and amassed 30 points.

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