2021-22 Player Review: Things Are Looking Up For Nicolas Roy

Washington Capitals v Vegas Golden Knights — Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images

Roy made most of increased role in 2021-22.

In the 2021-22 Player Review series, we will evaluate the 2021-22 performances of each key member of the Golden Knights. Players were evaluated based on overall performance in the regular season with regard to pre-season expectations and how that player performed in his particular role.

Nicolas Roy had a career year for the Vegas Golden Knights, and it was a blast seeing him take the ice and making the most of the opportunities that came his way. The 2021-22 campaign was Roy’s third year as a member of the Golden Knights, and saw him set a bunch of career highs in a year when he was one of the few players who didn’t miss significant time due to injuries or COVID-19.

Season In Review

Roy skated in 78 games for Vegas and finished the year with 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points whole averaging 16:16 a game. He averaged 13:01 the season prior, and when you look at his numbers you can definitely see that he made the most of the extra 3:15 of average ice time per game.

His overall GAR (goals above replacement) number this year was 3.7, and here’s a look at how he arrived there via Evolving-Hockey.com

Even Strength Offense — 8.5
Even Strength Defense — -4.6
Power Play Offense — 0.6
Shorthanded Defense — 0.7
Penalties Taken — -0.2
Penalties Drawn — -1.3

The biggest takeaway here is that offensively Roy put up some great numbers, but defensively he was a bit of a liability. There are obviously some trade offs to be expected considering the offensive strides he took this season, and this is something the team should monitor going forward. While these numbers account for individual performance, it still is worth looking to pair Roy with someone defensively minded to help limit his exposure.

Roy’s 2021-22 season stats also include an expected goals for percentage of 52.32, a Corsi for percentage of 54.43, and a goals for percentage of 54.61. The Golden Knights’ forward skated 986 minutes at 5v5, and certainly made a large impact offensively, but as you can see here he took away from that effectiveness with his play on the other side of the puck.

Looking Ahead

Roy is 25 and an arbitration eligible restricted free agent. From a depth chart perspective he’s currently the team’s No. 3 center, but he could potential be the team’s No. 2 right wing given that Evgenii Dadonov may be traded to create cap space, and Reilly Smith is an unrestricted free agent.

His last contract was a two-year deal that paid $750,000 a season, and it shouldn’t be hard to come to terms on a new agreement. While he is arbitration eligible, he’s got just 163 games of NHL experience, 78 of which came in 2021-22. Given the team’s aforementioned cap situation, Roy could come in pretty handy, and odds are he’ll be back for 2022-23 and beyond.

Knights On Ice grade: B+