The Colorado Avalanche landed the bottom-six center they had been looking for in Nic Roy. While the price for Roy was steep, there’s no question he’s an instant upgrade on the team’s bottom-six core.
That said, the question will be where Roy plays. The easy answer is that he draws into the third-line center role. Inserting Roy drops Jack Drury to the fourth line. That makes Drury the best 4C in the league at this point.
With Roy as the 3C, Parker Kelly and Victor Olofsson jump on the wings next to him. It is worth pointing out that once Artturi Lehkonen comes back, Gabriel Landeskog could return to the second line, with Ross Colton dropping alongside Roy and Olofsson.
A Colton-Roy-Olofsson line could be one of, it not, the best third lines in the NHL. Colton is the sort of player who does everything. Roy is among the league’s best two-way centers, with Olofsson acting as a puck hound.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to see the Roy line take over much more ice time than a typical third line. That’s crucial as top dogs Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas will need a breather down the stretch.
Plus, Brock Nelson could also use some support as a matchup center, particularly late in games. That’s why getting Roy was such a significant move. And that’s why the Avalanche were willing to pay what they did.
One other thing. Roy will be a key piece in killing penalties. Assuming that Logan O’Connor comes back at some point in the postseason, the Avalanche could have two superb penalty killers. That will be a crucial piece once the postseason rolls around.
All told, the Avalanche got a huge boost to their depth with Nic Roy. It’s good to see they didn’t have to give up a roster player or prospect to make the deal happen. Yes, the draft picks are expensive.
But, at the end of the day, those picks are highly uncertain. A Stanley Cup would make this deal just a little easier to digest.