$15M Leafs center brought in as part of Mitch Marner sign-and-trade deal gets candid about 'pressure' of playing in Canadian market

Nicolas Roy joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in a sign-and-trade involving Mitch Marner on July 1. He was moved after finishing the third year of his five-year $15 million contract signed with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Roy talked about the trade to a market like Toronto. He is taking the opportunity to play for the Leafs as a new challenge.

"Yeah, it's going to be obviously a different challenge," Roy said on Thursday, via the "Leafs Morning Take" podcast. "Really excited to play, like I said, for a Canadian team, a bigger market. Obviously, there's going to be maybe a little bit of pressure, but I think that's a privilege as a player."

Roy is from Quebec and knows the big-market atmosphere. He called it a privilege because pressure pushes him to play his best hockey.

"When you have pressure, that means the expectations are high," Roy said. "That's when you want to play and that's when you want to play your best hockey. So yeah, really excited to be joining the Leafs."

Roy added that he was surprised by the trade and didn’t expect it this summer. However, he’s excited to join Toronto, which is focused on winning.

"I wasn't expecting to be traded this summer," Roy said. "Came at a time, like I said, I wasn't expecting, but really, really excited to be joining a team that's trying to win right now. That's the most important thing."

Nicolas Roy thinks the Leafs have improved

Nicolas Roy is part of a team looking to reset, as the Toronto Maple Leafs still have high hopes despite past struggles. The defeat in the second round to the Florida Panthers was their seventh straight Game 7 loss since 2004. Additionally, they haven't made the conference final since 2002.

Roy is ready for the challenge and believes the Leafs are better this year.

"I think they (Toronto) want to play with a little more grit, especially in the playoffs, more physicality" Roy said on Thursday, via the "Leafs Morning Take" podcast.

"I think they did a really good job this year, just watching it, compared to the last couple of years. I think they were the biggest challenge to Florida in seven games. So I think we'll try to keep going that way."

Roy left the Golden Knights after spending six seasons with them. He helped Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2023. Last season, he scored 15 goals and 16 assists in 71 games, and added four points in 11 playoff games.