It’s going to hurt, Stars fans. Steve Ott is gone. As reported by Mike Heika, the Stars have traded Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for center Derek Roy, filling the hole left by Mike Ribeiro. Roy is one of a select number of legitimate top six centers available on the trade market, and the Stars made their move to get him, getting more skilled and younger in the process. Roy, who turned 29 last year, takes Ribeiro’s place as the veteran (but younger) center to lead the team. Roy suffered a quad tendon tear in the 2010-2011 season that cut his season short, holding him to 35 points in 35 games, and suffered along with the rest of Buffalo during a dreadful season in 2011-2012. The 17-27-44 stat line with 80 games played may not be impressive, but there were numerous rumblings of Roy’s unhappiness in Buffalo. He’s been an 80 point scorer once before and when he’s at the top of his game, is a lock for anywhere between 60-70 points if not more.

Roy is entering the last year of a six year, $24 million contract so by giving up a fan favorite in Steve Ott, Joe Nieuwendyk should understand that signing him to an extension as soon as possible is absolutely imperative. The Stars made a big move today, getting a top line center in his prime, parting with a key member of the older core of the team. My gut reaction is that this is an excellent move for the Dallas Stars, it won’t get much better than that when it comes to getting a center who can make a significant impact day in and day out. The one year left on Roy’s contract is the only catch, Nieuwendyk needs to get that sorted out quickly, so the cloud of free agency doesn’t hang over Roy’s head all season.

Full press release is here.

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