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Trade Bait: Derek Roy

Derek Roy

The NHL’s trade deadline is Wednesday, April 3. Following is a player that may be moved. For more “Trade Bait,” click here.

Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk showed this weekend that he was willing to sacrifice a roster player for the future, even as his team remains in the thick of the playoff race. But while the trade of captain Brenden Morrow to Pittsburgh was a tough one emotionally, Morrow’s on-ice role with the team had diminished in recent seasons.

Derek Roy, on the other hand, is still a top-six player with the Stars. The 29-year-old center has 18 points in 26 games and averages 19:04 of ice time.

Roy is also a pending unrestricted free agent that will be seeking relatively big bucks in his next contract. Given the scarcity of centers in the NHL, he’ll likely get it somewhere. The Stars haven’t made any progress in re-signing him and they won’t want to lose him for nothing.

“I understand the situation, and you never know what can happen, so I just concentrate on my game,” Roy said recently, per the Dallas Morning News. “It’s fine, honestly. I just try to work on my game, and everything will figure itself out. I want to play better, I want us to win games, and if that happens, then I’ll be happy. I’ll adjust to whatever else happens, but I just believe that if I play well and if I help my team play well, then everything else will fall into place.”

Roy was traded to the Stars in July from Buffalo. In 2007-08, he had a career best 81 points for the Sabres. But his production fell to 44 points in 2011-12.

Two teams looking for centers include Chicago and Vancouver. Roy -- a small center that’s better known for offense than defense -- may not be exactly what they’re looking for, but Stars Glen Gulutzan has praised Roy for his commitment to both ends of the ice.

“He is a two-way player,” said Gulutzan. “He’s not a heavy two-way player, but he’s a positional two-way player.”