Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Stars have quite a few players that could be mentioned as trade candidates by the time the deadline rolls around, particularly if they’re not in contention at that point.

One of the players that could actually see his name come up is Derek Roy. Roy was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in the trade that sent Steve Ott to Buffalo.

Currently in the last year of his deal, there is some speculation that the Stars could look to move Roy. Of course, they could also look to re-sign him this summer, when he becomes a free agent. At this point, the latter looks like the more likely, and more intelligent, decision.

Roy is just 29 still and is having a pretty solid year in his first season with the Stars. He has 15 points in 19 games, including three goals and 12 assists, which leads the team. He’s one of the only legitimate offensive threats that the Stars have in the middle.

There was initial concern over whether or not Roy would be able to start the season on time, after offseason shoulder surgery. The lockout allowed him to get healthy, and he’s proven to be an asset to this team. Several reports have stated that the two sides have already begun talks about a contract extension.

Roy currently carries a cap hit of $4 million. One wouldn’t imagine that he’d get too high of a raise, but as a no. 2 center, he should easily take home nice chunk of change.

Derek Roy has been a terrific pickup for the Stars. It’s taken him some time to get healthy and ease into the new environment in Dallas, but it looks like he’s finally done both. He sounds eager to remain in Dallas for a while, so one would imagine these two sides could get a deal done before the trade deadline.