Welcome to Vancity Derek Roy!
I hope your enjoying the endless rain we’re accustom to. On the flip-side, you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery and ladies of Vancouver. On Tuesday April 2nd, Canucks General Manager orchestrated a trade in which we acquired centre Derek Roy from the Dallas Stars in exchange for prospect Kevin Connauton, and a 2nd-round pick in 2013. Although the Canucks gave up one of their up and coming promising defencemen in the trade, it was definitely worth it for the organization considering the position they are in this late into the season. Without second line centre Ryan Kesler, and forward David Booth for the remainder of the year, the Canucks really needed this acquisition badly. In the games following up to the Derek Roy trade, the Canucks were really starting to feel the effects of not having two of their top offensive weapons on the ice. The team essentially switched to a defensive style of play, which didn’t work out so well. Yes we do have two of the best goaltenders in the entire league, but they can only do so much. Our D? Lets just say its been somewhat disappointing so far this year. So its safe to say that we are better off pushing the tempo of the game instead of just sitting back defensively like in past years.
With the addition of Derek Roy a skilled centre who is a proven scorer, the Canucks can go back to pushing back the tempo, and terrorize opposing teams in the league. Roy’s greatest asset is his speed, and on a future line that could have him playing alongside Ryan Kesler, this duo will be a handful for any D pairing to handle. As far as I am concerned, this was a great move by Mike Gillis. Oh, and for those Canucks fans who still care about him, the trade did not cost us giving up Roberto Luongo, and his contract that sucks according to the man himself.
At the end of the day: we were able to keep both our goaltenders, while acquiring a centre in the process. That to me is a great deal. Welcome to Vancouver Derek Roy, I hope you enjoy the media pressure, and we all hope you can finally take us to the finish line.
Written by: Hamed Amiri