Nicolas Roy was the first member of the Vegas Golden Knights to get his day with the Stanley Cup. Roy spent the day in his hometown of Amos, Quebec where there was a parade in his honor. We’ve seen babies, dogs, and other odd items placed in the Stanley Cup for a photo op. But you know what you don’t see too many of in the Stanley Cup? Cats! Roy’s girlfriend Laurie Pepin placed their cat, Pedigree, in the Stanley Cup for a family photo.
Pedigree gets to be in the Stanley Cup
Prior to joining the Golden Knights: Roy played his first NHL game for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2017-18 season. His time with the Hurricanes at the NHL level was short-lived as he went on to play a total of seven games.
How did the Golden Knights acquire Roy? In June 2019, the Golden Knights traded Erik Haula to the Hurricanes and received Roy plus a 2021 fifth-round pick. The trade freed up $2 million in cap space for the Golden Knights.
Contract history: Roy was in the final year of a four year deal worth $2.865 million when the Golden Knights traded for him. The Golden Knights extended Roy for two years at $750,000 AAV through 2022 and extended him after that through 2027 at $3 million AAV.
Road to the Golden Knights gameday roster: Roy did not immediately join the Golden Knights gameday roster. He appeared in 27 games with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (The Wolves were the Golden Knights AHL affiliate prior to the Henderson Silver Knights). Roy logged 22 points in 27 games with the Wolves during the 2019-20 season. That earned him an opportunity with the Golden Knights and he logged 10 points in 28 games during the 2019-20 season.
NHL Stats: In 228 regular season games, Roy has 40 goals and 54 assists. In 61 playoff games, Roy has 8 goals and 20 assists. All of Roy’s points in the NHL have come as a member of the Golden Knights.
Role in Vegas: Roy is used mostly as a fourth-line center between William Carrier and Keegan Kolesar. The nice thing about Roy is his ability to perform when moved up to the top-three lines. Roy can get the job done as a line-one center or line-two winger. With the trade of Reilly Smith, expect to see more time on the penalty kill for Roy.
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