At the end of another dreary day of free agency, the Sabres have made possibly the biggest news of any team by trading Derek Roy to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy.
And thus, the saga of Derek Roy comes to a close, not with a whimper, but with the excitement of significant organizational change. Roy, who has been on the trading block for over a year, was undoubtedly huge part of the Sabres on-ice plans next season for many reasons: he gets big minutes, plays in all situations, and wears a letter (sometimes.) To send him packing is a massive statement by the Sabres organization, and certainly leaves many on-ice questions to answer, but before we figure out what the team trying to say, let’s take a look at who they brought in.
Ott, for those who don’t know, is a very gritty, slightly talented center who can also play wing – think of him as the player you always hoped Paul Gaustad would become. He’ll put up between 35-40 points a year, and is still a top faceoff man, but also was 4th in the NHL with 278 hits last season and is a lock for 150+ penalty minutes thanks for his eagerness to drop the gloves.
Pardy is a defensive defenseman, and a guy who will most likely bounce around the AHL and NHL as needed. He’s a big boy at 6’4”, 220 lbs, but with only 30 games under his belt each of the past two years, he’s likely a depth player, much like Alexander Sulzer was in last year’s Hodgson trade.
Ott has two years left on his contract, with a cap hit of $2.9 million, while Pardy has one year left on his deal worth $2 million.
Darcy Regier entered the offseason with a mandate to make the Sabres tougher to play against. After drafting Zemgus Girgensons, signing John Scott, and trading for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy, it appears as if he’s done just that.