Derek Roy Jersey Card

It's time to welcome Derek Roy to the madness that is this season's Edmonton Oilers team! Indeed, instead of claiming him off waivers, the Oilers decided to trade Mark Arcobello to the Nashville Predators to obtain Roy; my guess is, after claiming Matt Fraser from the Boston Bruins yesterday, the Oilers might also claim Dany Heatley to play with Roy on a second line with David Perron, i.e. a ''Last Chance'' line if you will (well, except for the still-solid Perron).

I do understand why some Oilers fans/bloggers are boggled, but I do see how the Oilers had to shed one small center to fit another one in. And still, Roy is an inch taller, 15 pounds heavier, and has the experience of having advanced to the third round of the playoffs, as well as a couple of silver medals with Team Canada (World Juniors, and World Championships) - the type of experience the Oilers' kids need to listen to and learn from.

I get the move by GM Craig MacTavish, but it's still not the move he should be making; he's either stalling, or is getting very sub-par offers for Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and / or Justin Schultz.

We'll see how it goes, though, the bigger picture - if there is one - will become clearer in time.

In the meantime, here's a Frankencard from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Series 1 set (#GJ-RD of the Game Jersey sub-set), showing him with the Buffalo Sabres' white uniform with a matching swatch, but listing him as a member of the Dallas Stars - he would finish that season with the Vancouver Canucks, before moving on to the St. Louis Blues last year, and the Preds and Oilers this year. That's six teams in not even four seasons...

Derek Roy Swatch Card

The season started out ok for Derek Roy, as he recorded an assist in his first game with the Nashville Predators. The former Buffalo Sabres captain looks poised to produce at the same rate as he had with the Sabres and Dallas Stars (0.75 points per game), rather than with the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues (0.5).

When a team's general manager says his $1M contract offer is your ''last chance at getting top-6 ice time'', like David Poile did in July, one must feel at least some amount of pressure. Playing with Colin Wilson and Craig Smith gives the diminutive and skillful Roy (5'9'', 184 pounds) a playmaker and a shooter to manage and match his own skill set with, and it could very well lead to great things for him personally.

For a guy who had four straight 20-goal seasons (with a peak of 32 in 2007-08) and four straight 60-point seasons (peaking at 81 the same year), getting back into point-producing mode after a sub-par 9-28-37 season in the defensively-minded Blues' system will be a relief.

He has two silver medals playing for Team Canada internationally, one at the World Juniors, and one at the World Championships. At 31 years of age, it would require quite the rejuvenation (coupled with an early playoff exit) for him to be able to represent his country again in the future.

During his time in Buffalo, it seems like the team was changing uniforms on a yearly basis; the one depicted on this card is a decent one - except for the logo/lettering - inspired by their original 1970s/1980s garbs:

The card is from Panini's 2011-12 Certified set (card #20 of the Fabric Of The Game sub-set, numbered 74/399), and features a seemingly black swatch (at least in person), which would mean it's from the team's turn-of-the-millennium away uniform.

Derek Roy Autograph Card

One team I'm sure will surprise many this season is the Buffalo Sabres, who have improved their defense, offense, and have one of the 5 best goalies on the planet in Ryan Miller.

But their key marquee player remains the underestimated Derek Roy, who is a Jonathan Toews-type of player: a point-per-game or close who is also very capable of playing in his own end and taking the puck away from opponents.

Plus, he's a capable leader, as he serves as his team's current alternate captain and has been a captain in juniors - for his OHL team the Kitchener Rangers, which he led to the Memorial Cup, where he even won the MVP trophy, the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy.

He has also twice won silver for Team Canada - once at the World Juniors (2003), and once at the World Championships (2008). And how do you make a winning team? By incorporating winners into it. And Derek sure is one.

This card (#DR) is from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Be A Player set and features Roy wearing the Sabres' infamous ''slug'' jersey in its white version.  His signature - from a black sharpie - is on a sticker which was apposed onto the card.