Penguins A to Z: Kevin Roy might have reached his ceiling already

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Player: Kevin Roy

Position: Left winger

Shoots: Left

Age: 27

Height: 5-foot-10

Weight: 172 pounds

2019-20 AHL statistics: 58 games, 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists)

Contract: One-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $850,000. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

Acquired: Trade, Dec. 17, 2019

This season: The 2019-20 season was a tough one for the team store at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre as the jersey sales of their three most prominent players entering the season took a hit.

• Forward Sam Lafferty, the homegrown prospect from Hollidaysburg, spent most of the season on the NHL roster.

• Defenseman David Warsofsky was back for a second tour with the team, this time as a captain. He missed portions of the season because of a groin injury

• And forward Ryan Haggerty, a member of the team for parts of four seasons a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer in 2018-19, was traded to the Florida Panthers organization in mid-December, partly because of the AHL’s limits on veteran players

(Note: AHL teams must dress at least 12 non-goaltenders who have played in fewer than 260 combined games in the NHL, AHL or a top European league as defined by the AHL’s collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association.)

In return for that transaction, the Penguins received Kevin Roy, a fourth-round pick (No. 97 overall) of the Anaheim Ducks in 2012, who has bounced around the professional ranks over the past five seasons. His only NHL experience came in the form of three games with the Ducks during the 2018-19 campaign.

Due to injuries that limited him to only 11 AHL contests in 2018-19, the Ducks let him walk as a free agent, and he signed with the Panthers. After putting up 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 23 games with the Springfield Falcons, the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, Roy’s production remained steady with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

In 35 games with the Penguins, Roy, a native of Quebec, posted a solid 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) while primarily inhabiting a top-six role as well as a spot on the power play.

(Video courtesy AHL)

By the time the AHL’s season was halted in mid-March, Roy, working the right wing of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ top line with Adam Johnson on left wing and Cole Cassels at center, began to heat up a bit with four points (three goals, one assists) in his final four games before the pause.

The future: Roy might have played his final games with the Penguins organization after the AHL officially canceled the remainder of the season last month.

He was brought in primarily as a matter of necessity because of the AHL’s rules on veterans, and he played perfectly well for a team short on talent among its forward ranks.

But at 26, he has probably reached his ceiling at this point of his professional career as a good AHL player.

There is value to that for the NHL club. Roy can serve as a good influence to younger players on their way up to the NHL. Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward and captain Tom Kostopoulos had a lengthy AHL career in that capacity.

While Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach and general manager Mike Vellucci seems to have trust in Roy, he is a pending unrestricted free agent and won’t be a very high priority for management to re-sign. And with the likes of forward prospects Filip Hallander, Drew O’Conner and Radim Zohorna each potentially joining the team next season, to say nothing of a possible rebound by injured forward prospect Kasper Bjorkqvist, the Penguins might turn to younger options than Roy.

Follow the Penguins all season long.