NEWARK, NJ — Nicolas Roy knows his name is floating around in trade speculation linking him to the Edmonton Oilers, and he’s trying not to dwell on it.
“I saw the rumors like everyone else, but until the rumors became true… nothing really happened,” Roy said Wednesday after the Toronto Maple Leafs’ morning skate at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.
“I mean, I didn’t expect to be traded last summer and I didn’t hear any rumors. And then it happens. Sometimes you hear rumors, but it doesn’t happen. So I heard it like everyone else did.
“But I’m playing for the Leafs now and I want to be here.”
The Oilers, who have reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice, are one of several clubs hunting center depth in the playoffs, while fellow Western Conference contenders Minnesota (Michael McCarron) and Vegas (Cole Smith) have already added forward depth through trades this week.
Acquired by Toronto in an offseason deal with the Golden Knights for Mitch Marner, the 29-year-old is under a reasonable contract ($3 million AAV) through 2026-27.
The Leafs are under no pressure to trade their third-line center by Friday, but they are listening to offers. Edmonton has already added defenseman Connor Murphy, but Roy, a big, defensively responsible and faceoff-winning penalty killer, fits the Oilers’ needs in the middle.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Roy said, without trade protection.
Roy said that while he takes the rumors as a compliment in some ways, he is grateful for life as a Leaf.
“I definitely have playoff experience in Vegas, so, yeah, a little bit,” Roy said, focusing on Toronto.
“It’s been fun. Growing up, I was a Leafs fan. It’s definitely been a lot of fun playing for this team here. Playing in Canada, which is obviously a big market, everyone is really involved. It’s a really good group of people. So I’m having a really good time.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube said he knows what he’s getting every night from Roy, who has five goals, 20 points and is shooting 52.4 percent from the field.
“I know his production is not where he wants to be and we want it to be a little bit higher, but it’s not because we’re not doing things right,” Berube said. “Overall, we are very pleased with his performance.”
Roy is one of several Leafs expected to play in Wednesday night’s game against the Devils, including Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
So wouldn’t any of these trade candidates be left out of the lineup as a precaution?
“That’s not going to happen tonight,” Berube said. “There’s a lot of noise and noise here with the deadline coming up, but we have to block it out and play.”
One-time users: Nick Robertson, Calle Järnkrok and Troy Stecher will be scratched again as Berube sticks with the lineup that pushed the Flyers to a shootout. … Defenseman Chris Tanev underwent successful core muscle surgery today in New York City and is expected to be ready for training camp. … Joseph Woll is expected to face the Rangers on Thursday as New Jersey native Anthony Stolarz gets the nod in net.
Projected lineup for the Maple Leafs on Wednesday at New Jersey:
McMann – Matthews – Nylander
Knis – Tavares – Snapper
Machelli – Roy – Joshua
Lorenz – Lawton – Cowan
