Nicolas Roy is now trying to prove something to the Colorado Avalanche that the Vegas Golden Knights already knew.
He can help a team win.
That was Roy’s role during his six seasons in Vegas. He was never expected to be the face of the franchise or carry the offense. He was the big, versatile forward who could win battles, play a physical game, chip in offensively and give his team another reliable option when the games got tougher.
Advertisement
And when Vegas finally won the Stanley Cup in 2023, Roy was right there.
He played 22 games during that championship run, scoring three goals and adding eight assists for 11 points. Those weren’t superstar numbers, but Roy wasn’t asked to be a superstar. He was asked to deliver in the clutch.
He did.
Now, three years later, Roy is in Colorado and entering a season that could determine whether he has a future with the Avalanche beyond 2026-27.
The Golden Knights don’t have to wonder whether Roy can be part of a championship team. They’ve already seen it.
Roy finished his Vegas career with 362 regular-season games, 68 goals, 98 assists and 164 points.
Advertisement
Those are solid numbers for a player who didn’t average a ton of ice time.
His playoff production was even more telling.
Roy appeared in 79 postseason games with the Golden Knights, recording 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points. His 11 points during Vegas’ championship run were a small part of a much bigger picture, but they helped. Roy could play through contact, get to the net, create room for teammates and occasionally come up with a timely garbage goal.
Those players tend to become more valuable in April and May.
Vegas knew that.
The Avalanche acquired Roy at the trade deadline, sending a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 fifth-round pick to Toronto.
Advertisement
They wanted another forward who could add depth, provide some secondary scoring and make the lineup tougher to play against in the postseason.
Roy showed flashes right away.
He scored in his second game with Colorado against Minnesota, scored again against Seattle two games later and found the net against Washington five games after that.
Then an upper-body injury cost him seven games.
Roy finished the regular season with only three goals and five points in 15 games with Colorado, but his postseason was more encouraging. He scored three goals and added three assists in 13 playoff games, including the overtime winner against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2.
Advertisement
Roy enters the final season of the five-year, $15 million contract he signed with Vegas in 2022. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
This is where Colorado has a decision to make.
Roy has already shown he can produce more than he did during his brief regular-season stint with the Avalanche. From 2021-22 through 2024-25, he recorded at least 30 points in four consecutive seasons, including a career-high 41 points in 2023-24.
If he gets back into the 35-to-40-point range, the conversation changes.
Roy averaged 13:18 per game during his 15 regular-season appearances with Colorado and 12:01 during the playoffs. If head coach Jared Bednar gives him more responsibility, there should be more opportunities for his offense to follow.
And if it does, Colorado could have a difficult decision waiting next summer.The Golden Knights have already gone through the process of figuring out what Roy is worth.
And he was worth every penny.
.
Read the full article here
