Avs forward Nicolas Roy puts Vegas friendships on hold as he meets his old team in conference finals

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DENVER (AP) — 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 is now 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 on Wednesday. "The excitement’s already pretty high.”

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. It’s part of the business. It can happen at any given day. I just got surprised a little by it.”

Roy played in 59 games for the Maple Leafs with five goals and 15 assists, before going on the move again. The Avalanche picked him up on March 5 for draft picks.

It hasn't taken long for Roy to settle in with Colorado. He's been a steady contributor through the opening two rounds of the playoffs, with three goals and three assists.

“All the other guys here made it so easy from the first day,” the 29-year-old Roy said. “The coaches did a good job with me, of letting me know how to play the system. The guys talk to me a lot on the ice as well.”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar knew what they were getting in Roy — a skilled veteran player with plenty of poise. Bednar and the staff studied film of Roy from his Vegas days and his stint in Toronto, just to brush up on his skillset. Roy had three goals and eight assists when the Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023.

“We tried to figure out how we would deploy him, and could we get him back to playing as well or better than he did in Vegas. Because he was a highly effective player for them,” Bednar said. "The one thing that I’ve been impressed with is his patience with the puck. He never throws the puck away. ... He's got a lot of patience for a guy with the production that he has.”

Roy's already come up big for the Avalanche, scoring his second career playoff OT winner in Game 2 during a first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings.

“I’m in a great situation right now,” said Roy, a fourth-round pick by Carolina in 2015 who played in seven games over two seasons with the Hurricanes before being traded to Vegas in 2019. “Just trying to keep doing my best.”

Need a scouting report on the Golden Knights? Roy's your forward to ask.

Sure, the Vegas coach may be different — John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy — but the system is virtually the same. Roy's still friends with everyone from captain Mark Stone to Jack Eichel to linemate Keegan Kolesar.

“Obviously, I know their system and I know a little bit their player tendencies, as they know mine," Roy said. “I don’t think it’s a big advantage. The game is just so fast, you don’t want to overthink, you just want to play your game.”

He recalled the time his Vegas team rallied to beat the Avalanche in the second round of the 2021 playoffs. The Golden Knights trailed 2-0 in the series before winning four straight to advance.

This time, he's on the other bench.

“It’s going to be some really good hockey,” Roy said. "It’s going to be a good series.”

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