Lightning bulks up with trade

Feaster is likely done dealing after getting coveted tough guy from Ottawa.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 16, 2002

Jay Feaster was not sure he wanted to make another trade.

The Lightning general manager likes the way the team is playing, likes the tightness of the locker room. Was it the right time, he wondered, to bring another outside element into the mix?

Like a kid staring at a box of puppies, Feaster could not resist. Especially when the prize was Ottawa left wing Andre Roy, a 6-foot-4, 213-pound heavyweight whom Feaster always considered a trade target and whom he acquired Friday for left wing Juha Ylonen.

"He brings the element we want," said Feaster, who also got a sixth-round pick in this year's draft. "He is that physical power forward kind of player who can also play a little bit. I'm excited about it."

It was Feaster's second trade since taking over during the Olympic break. The first brought forward Shane Willis and tough guy Chris Dingman from the Hurricanes for goalie Kevin Weekes. It likely will be Feaster's last deal before Tuesday's deadline.

"We will rest," Feaster said. "I'm not closing the door to anything. But at this point, I'm not looking to move anyone."

Roy (pronounced WAH), 27, fits the mold of the tougher, more physical player Feaster loves. He is a legitimate threat when he drops the gloves and this season has 148 penalty minutes in 56 games. He has 474 career penalty minutes in 206 games.

But he also has developed his game beyond his fists. Selected 151st by the Bruins in the 1994 draft, Roy has career highs of six goals and eight assists and is plus-3, averaging 8:22 of ice time.

Ylonen, 30, a defensive specialist and a Finnish Olympian, has three goals, nine assists and is minus-11, averaging 15:44 of ice time.

"We traded a very good hockey player who has played a lot of minutes for us," Feaster said. "But the reality is, if you're going to find this type of tough, physical player, teams don't give them up easily. It cost us a good player, but we got a good player back."

Roy, who is expected at today's practice at the Ice Palace, did not hide his disappointment about his first NHL trade.

"I'm just surprised and shocked," he said. "It's my third year here and they keep telling me, 'You're improving. We like the way you play,' and all that stuff, and it just happens like that."

Even more disturbing for Roy is that the Senators were criticized for a lack of toughness after being manhandled out of the playoffs last season by the Maple Leafs.

"Over the summer, everyone in Ottawa said the Senators needed more grit," he said. "They brought in (Zdeno) Chara and Chris Neil as a rookie. So with those guys coming in, maybe the team was going in the right direction. That's why I didn't expect this to happen. I can't say they betrayed me because they don't really owe me anything. It's their business. I've got to turn the page and move on."

Senators general manager Marshall Johnston acknowledged Roy did not take the trade well.

"And I don't blame him," Johnston said. "I told him he made good strides here and he improved as a player. He contributes to the team and we're going to miss that.

"We have a good chance here to be in the playoffs, and the team he's going to isn't going to be there at this time. But they're going to get there and he's going to be part of that."

Roy said he was reassured when Feaster told him he wants him to be more than a fighter. And Feaster confirmed he thinks Roy, like Dingman, can be "used on a regular shift."

Still, Roy, who makes $525,000 compared to Ylonen's $750,000, has no illusions about his role.

"I don't want to go out there just to fight," he said. "But I know it's part of my role and I will have to do it in the future. I recognize what I have to do."

Feaster said teams will recognize Roy and the 6-4, 225-pound Dingman as a formidable force.

"Both of these guys skate so well, they get there and hit," Feaster said. "They're both big, strong guys who will cause the opposition problems."