Derek Roy: 2008-2009 Report Card

It's time to put the finishing touches on the 2008-2009 season for the Buffalo Sabres.  Here is a complete report card of every single player that played a significant amount of time with the Sabres this season.  Thanks to Japers Rink and Mile High Hockey for the inspiration.

Derek Roy

#9 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 188

Born: May 04, 1983

Key Stats:  Derek Roy has become the Sabres best player over the past couple of seasons.  He led the team in points with 70.  It was the second consecutive season that he led the way in points.

Interesting Stat:  Roy has built a reputation as a diver and sometimes doesn't get calls that he thinks he should get.  He definitely gets some calls because he is a plus 22 penalty plus/minus.

Fun Fact:  Let's try something different here and post a video for the fun fact.  It looks like Roy is a fan of Pearl Jam. {Hat tip to Goose's Roost for the pointer}

Line Combos:

1. Drew Stafford - Thomas Vanek (1111 shifts - 13 points)
2. Clarke MacArthur - Drew Stafford (490 shifts - 5 points)
3. Jochen Hecht - Drew Stafford (355 shifts - 2 points)
4. Jochen Hecht - Jason Pominville (346 shifts - 4 points)
5. Ales Kotalik - Thomas Vanek (312 shifts -1 point)

The Good:  Roy has quickly developed into the Sabres best all-around offensive player.  He was second on the team in goals and assists and led the team in points with 70.  Roy was also second on the team with 221 shots on goal.

Roy is a fast skater and he always finds away to get the puck on his stick.  He led the team with a total of 52 takeaways.

His first couple of seasons in the league were a struggle for Roy, especially in the face-off circle.  As the teams top-line Center he is asked to take many face-offs and the past two seasons he has finished better than 50%.

He scored nine power play goals and led the team in power play ice time, averaging 4:05 of power play time.

You can never discount his knack for drawing opponents into penalties.  Many people will still say that he is a diver and that is why he gets the calls but the only thing that matters is the power play opportunities.

The Bad:  Roy has been a plus player in every season except his rookie season until this year.  Roy finished the season as a minus five which was one of the worst on the team.  The two players that Roy played the most with were Stafford and Vanek.  He was a plus seven when on the ice with Stafford and he was a minus three when he played with Vanek.  That is an interesting stat to follow into next season because that line was known as the Sabres best line.

Roy became prolific at taking the puck away but he was just as prolific at giving it away.  Roy turned the puck over a remarkable 100 times which was by far the worst on the team.  He was a miius 48 in giveaway/takeaway ratio which was the second worst on the entire team.

2008-2009 Salary:  $3,500,000

2009-2010 Status: signed for $3,500,000

Vote:  It's time to grade Roy for his play in Buffalo during the  2008-2009 season.  Every player has expectations so vote based on those expectations.  If a player played to their potential they should receive a "C" if they exceeded expectations they would receive a "B" or an "A".

Discuss:   When Roy signed his contract a couple of seasons ago there were people on both sides of the fence.  With hindsight being 20-20 would you say that he is worth the contract that he signed?  Should Lindy Ruff try to keep the line of Vanek-Roy-Stafford together next season?  What is the one thing you would change about Derek Roy?

Next Up: Andrej Sekera