Capitals sign Derek Roy to professional tryout contract

By foxsports
Published

With Nicklas Backstrom's near-future still up in the air as he recovers from offseason hip surgery, the Washington Capitals looked to bolster their center depth by signing Derek Roy to a professional tryout contract Sunday.

Roy, who split time between the Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers (he was traded from Nashville to Edmonton for Mark Arcobello after just 26 games), finished his 2014-15 campaign with 12 goals and 20 assists in 72 games.

Roy is far from his days of scoring 30 or more goals in a season, but he will be given a shot by the Capitals to fill in a bottom-six role on the team. Whether he fits in the third-line center hole that the Capitals might have to start the start of the season, or he fits more as a fourth-line option, remains up in the air.

While Roy produces a bit more offensively than your average fourth line center, it is important to note that while he had 11 goals and 11 assists for the Edmonton Oilers in 46 games, and was widely credited for helping out Nail Yakupov improve his game, Roy played sheltered minutes last season for the Oilers. Among Oilers forwards with at least 400 minutes played, Roy played against the third-lowest level of competition, based on his average opponents Corsi percentage (a measurement used to measure a player's overall puck possession), according to War On Ice. In fact, Roy played against the least-difficult players in his entire career.

This begs the question: Can Roy hold his own as a third-line center for the Capitals if he plays with more skilled team mates than he did in Edmonton, or will he require an equal amount of sheltering in order to succeed?

Regardless of the answer, Roy could potentially give the Capitals another center option, and that can never be a bad thing. The Capitals have Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jay Beagle solidified as centers on the team, and Brooks Laich, Michael Latta and even Andre Burakovsky can split time between both wing and center.

For now, Roy will just try to battle for a spot on the roster. A professional tryout contract allows the Capitals to release him at any time without any financial punishment, or sign him to a regular contract if they want him on the team. The Capitals' training camp begins on Thursday.