The Washington Capitals announced a series of roster moves on Monday morning as they prepare for the start of the 2015-16 season, and the biggest name on the cut list was veteran center Derek Roy who was released from his tryout contract with the team.
Even though Roy was only in camp on a tryout deal, it still seemed like he had a decent shot at sticking on the roster given Nicklas Backstrom's status heading into the season and the fact that they don't really have great center depth beyond Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. At the very least, when everybody is healthy, Roy seemed like he could have been a decent option as a depth center that could potentially provide some offense in a bottom-six role.
Veteran forward Jay Beagle seems like the next option to handle third-line center duties for the Capitals, and even though he's a solid defensive player and penalty killer, he probably isn't going to provide much offense -- if any at all -- from that spot. Turning 30 in a couple of weeks, Beagle has topped 10 points in a single NHL season just one time, and that came during the 2014-15 season when he saw some time playing alongside Alex Ovechkin and Backstrom.
The decision to move on from Roy would also seem to suggest that the Capitals are confident that Backstrom, who will not be ready for the season opener and perhaps the first four games of the season, will be back sooner rather than later. When he does return the Capitals should have a pretty potent 1-2 punch down the middle with Backstrom and Kuznetsov, so they might be able to get by without much scoring punch from their third-line center spot.
Roy, 32, spent the 2014-15 season with the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers where he scored 12 goals to go with 20 assists in 32 games. He is clearly not the player he was seven or eight years ago when he was a steady 70-point player in the NHL, but he still has enough playmaking ability that he should be able to help somebody this season.
