And I don't mean the arrogant, retired goaltender.
According to the Flames website, the disgraced Tampa Bay enforcer is now a Calgary Flame.
If this it true, I have to say Im dismayed and annoyed by this move. Roy is as useless a player as Godard and probably a worse enforcer. He was suspended by the Lightning last year after an incident involving the Philadelphia Flyers, where he lost a fight to Riley Cote and then proceeded to lose his mind on the bench.
This addition does nothing for the Calgary Flames (besides make them even more generally hate-able I suppose). Actually, it makes them worse.
My esteem for Calgary's off-season is surely and gradually being eroded. Blech!
EDIT - NHL.com says he's a Flame too.
EDIT II - Inside the Flames declares it official and notes the contract to be a one-year, 550k deal (meaning one-way I guess).
Lefebvre notes that this is "Mark Smith all over again" in that the Smith signing was leaked prior to the official announcement thanks to an anonymous roster update by the NHL. I would like to extend that comparison in saying that, like Smith, Roy is a needless addition to an already full line-up.
Questions now that this is for real:
1.) What does this do to Brandon Prust, who also has a one-way contract? I mean, the Flames now have 15 forwards signed for next season. Only Dustin Boyd is on a two-way contract and there's little chance of him spending time in the minors (especially if the org doesn't want to start receiving letter bombs from me). Marcus Nilsson might still go away, but that still leaves Calgary carrying 14 forwards (and 8 defensemen!). Not to mention the several million the club is over the cap. Either there's some kind of deal to get rid of some of these guys in the works...or the QC Flames are going to have an expensive roster next season.
2.) Sutter stated explicitly that the Flames "had no room on the roster for a 4 minute/night player" on the radio just 3 weeks ago. Course, I believed him, partially because it was so god-damned kick-you-in-the-crotch obviously true that is was hard not to take his word for it. Now I have to assume that Sutter either doesn't really mean anything that he says to the press (very possible) or that he's a slave to his whims.
3.) WTF is the point of this game of musical chairs GMs keep playing with goons? I mean, for godsake, if goons were worth a damn, you'd think a club might actually hold onto one for longer than a season or two. In Sutter's case, why the hell wouldn't he just sign Godard to a 3 year deal if he feels it's so necessary to have a pugilist on the roster all the time? For that matter, why didn't he sign Simon long-term? Or Oliwa? Why didn't he sign Roy beyond this season? Why keep swapping in a new meathead every off-season or two? Doesn't make a lick of sense to me.
Final Update - Mirtle links me and adds some words on the Roy signing. He also links to one of his previous posts outlining the uselessness of enforcers, which saves me from having to write something in the same vein. Some of the worthwhile bits:
The average enforcer in this study has played 16.5 games at 5.45 minutes per game for a total of about 90 minutes of ice time this season. In that time, against the worst opposition in the league, their teams have scored an average of 1.56 goals, allowed 2.66, and been out shot 38-30.
At best, they're not a liability. At worst, they cripple their team, allowing somewhere in the neighbourhood of two goals per 60 minutes more than the rest of their team while generating almost zero offence or shots on goal.
If I'm a coach or GM, isn't there a better option at the bottom of the roster?
