Avs' Nicolas Roy puts Vegas friendships on hold as he meets his old team in conference finals
Nicolas Roy, who was traded from Vegas to Toronto last summer as part of the Mitch Marner deal, landed in Colorado two months ago — through another deal — and now is facing his former team.
DENVER — Nicolas Roy still has his place in Las Vegas. He still has plenty of friends on the Golden Knights. He still has those cherished memories, too, from helping them win a Stanley Cup title three years ago.
Roy, who was traded from Vegas to Toronto last summer as part of the Mitch Marner deal, landed in Colorado two months ago — through another deal — and now is facing his former team. At stake, a spot in the Stanley Cup Final. So, yeah, those friendships developed over six seasons in Vegas are on pause.
“Just how it goes,” Roy said as the Avalanche get set to host Vegas in Game 1 of the Western Conference final. “The excitement’s already pretty high. ” Off to Toronto Roy was caught off guard by the deal that sent him to Toronto and brought Marner to Vegas.
Marner has been a big contributor for the Golden Knights in the playoffs, with a team-leading 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) through playoff series wins over Utah and Anaheim. “As a player, you expect (a trade like this) more at the deadline than right there in the middle of the summer,” said Roy, who’s renting out his Vegas place to a member of the Golden Knights. “But again, you never know.