One of the most versatile players in the Golden Knights lineup for the past few seasons has been Nic Roy. While his role has mainly consisted of playing as a bottom-six center, he has stepped in up the lineup as the 1st and 2nd line center, and even as a top six winger as well.
This season, there’s a strong chance Roy will be called on to bounce around the lineup again. He’s currently 4th on the depth chart at his natural position, center (Eichel, Hertl, Karlsson), while he may be the team’s 3rd best winger (Stone, Barbashev).
Vegas has spoken a lot over the past few seasons about the importance of centers. They’ve felt that being strong up the middle has helped them offensively and defensively and there’s a firm belief that great centers elevate wingers.
When we look at our team next year, we feel really strong in goal, love our defense, love our centers. I think we have some forwards on the wings that are ready to take on more responsibility and bigger roles. -Kelly McCrimmon
Roy stands out as a contingency plan in the event the younger wingers aren’t able to stand up to the test of playing in the top six. Plan A appears to be using Roy as a center on the 4th line completing a lineup that may have the best collection of centermen in the NHL. That would leave two of Pavel Dorofeyev, Alexander Holtz, Victor Olofsson, Brett Howden, and Brendan Brisson on the wings of the top two lines. While there’s plenty of reason to believe Jack Eichel and Tomas Hertl can help drive these lines with wingers still trying to find their way in the NHL, there’s a reasonable likelihood those players aren’t up to the rigors of playing 17+ minutes in the top six.
That’s where Nic Roy comes in as an option on the wing. His history on the wing is bumpy though. In the past two regular seasons, he’s played just six games as a right-wing and has failed to score a goal. He managed just two points, six shots, and amassed nine penalty minutes. And, from the eye test, he clearly looks more comfortable in the middle of the ice.
However, Roy has had some success, especially when playing with elite linemates. In the 2023 playoffs, he played eight games on the right wing of William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. Against Edmonton and Dallas, in the highest-pressure games possible, Roy tallied five assists, 11 shots, and 13 hits while posting a +3 rating. In addition, back in 2021-22, Roy was called upon to play on the wing 20 different times. He scored six goals, had 13 points, and averaged 1.5 shots per game, equal to his career average.
When Roy has been given the opportunity to play with the likes of Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, and Alex Tuch, he has produced at the same, if not better, level than he does as a center. However, when he’s expected to drive a line on the wing, he has not had much success at all.
Nic Roy’s usage this season will likely be a strong determinant of how well things are going for the Golden Knights. If he’s the 4th line center for most of the year, that will mean the inexperienced wingers are getting the job done and the holes in the lineup won’t look the same as they do right now. But, if Roy is consistently called upon to play top six wing, he’ll have to produce at a level higher than the damage it’ll do to the overall center depth.
