Dominic Moore : UFA Report

by David Oleksy on May 13, 2009 12:43 PM EDT

Last Week we took a look at the Sabres Restricted Free Agents and now it's time to move along to the Unrestricted Free Agents. The list will continue everyday this week until all the free agents have been covered.

Patrick Kaleta (RFA) - Read Post
Clarke MacArthur (RFA) - Read Post
Andrej Sekera (RFA) - Read Post
Drew Stafford (RFA) - Read Post
Max Afinogenov (UFA) - Read Post
Dominic Moore (UFA)
Andrew Peters (UFA)
Jaro Spacek (UFA)
Mikael Tellqvist (UFA) - signed with Ak-Bars Kazan in KHL.

Dominic Moore

#17 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-0

Weight: 188

Born: Aug 03, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Dominic Moore	81	13	32	45	-2	92	4	1	1	0	165	7.9

Dominic Moore joined the Sabres on trade deadline day. He was supposed to help the Sabres reach the playoffs and possibly advance further. That never materialized and the Sabres find themselves once again searching for answers.

Stregnths

Moore is a gritty player that can help the team in both ends of the rink. He has always been known as a guy that will battle until the whistle blows and he never gives up on a play. He has also been known as a guy that was defensively responsible (probably what the Sabres liked about him heading down the stretch).

This season he also showcased the offenisve side of his game. He had never really found his game in the offensive zone until this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Moore scored 12 goals and added 29 assists in 63 games played with the Leafs this season.

If he can once again find the scoring touch he had with the Leafs, he is a solid two-way player.

Weaknesses

Dominic Moore has two glaring weaknesses and they may both be difficult to overlook.

He has never been able to consistently contribute in the offensive zone. He has always had that potential but was never able to put it together until this season. He is not a guy that will make other players around him better but instead he relies on his line-mates to pick up his game offensively.

His other weakness could also be described as a stregnth depending on point of view. He is cocky and arrogant. It was that arrogance that forced the Leafs to trade him to Buffalo at the deadline because he was looking for too much money on an extension.

It's hard to fault a player for trying to seek the most money he can in free agency but Moore may never find another situation as good as the one he had with the Leafs.

Bottom Line

Moore never materialized into the player the Sabres had hoped he would be. He was mostly invisible when in the Sabres lineup although he picked up his play against the Leafs.

His strong play in some games proved that he could be a good player but he never had a consistent effort in every game. That lack of consistency will ultimately be a crutch when negotiating his new contract.

Verdict

Dominic Moore will be testing the free agent waters in search of a lucrative contract. The Sabres won't be the team that will offer him one. Will anyone give Moore exactly what he wants?

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Comments

The Sabres won’t be the team that will offer him one. Will anyone give Moore exactly what he wants?

I hope he likes Russia.

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by Chemmy on May 13, 2009 2:08 PM EDT reply actions

He is cocky and arrogant.

Judging by Emery Russia is ready to welcome players like this. до свидания (Do svedania) Mr. Moore.

A Nation of Masochists a blog dedicated to Leafs Nation, who are continually punished but keep coming back for more.

by furcifer on May 14, 2009 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Its like a Leaf fan explosion in here. Honestly, someone in the NHL will be crazy enough to offer Moore what he is looking for.

Die By The Blade - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by Zachary Zielonka on May 14, 2009 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions

hmmm

When I read “crazy” and “offer” in the same sentence Glen Sather immediately springs to mind. Tough choice the Rangers or Russia..

A Nation of Masochists a blog dedicated to Leafs Nation, who are continually punished but keep coming back for more.

by furcifer on May 14, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not so sure they will. Moore’s a waiver wire pick-up, and he never showed anything other than exactly what he’s been all along. He also basically proved that his offensive production was a result of being on a line with Blake. If he had stayed with the Leafs before hitting free agency someone might have bit, but the cat’s out of the bag now.

He’ll sign somewhere, he’s too good of a player to not warrant consideration, but I think he’ll find the amount of money disappointing.

Old Guys in Blue and White

by koopa kid on May 14, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

Cocky and Arrogant

hey – always some good thoughts on this blog site. except for the …yawn…jaw numbing
boring chemmy hate-on for Dominic Moore. So very obviously a personal vendetta.
Agree Moore didn’t do us much good in Buffalo. He won’t be back.
Regardless, I have to address your comment that Moore is “cocky and arrogant”. I have met a lot of NHL players over the past 10 years, including Moore recently. These 2 adjectives do not describe the guy I met and talked with for some time. He was the most approachable, good-natured, polite, self-effacing down-to-earth and accommodating player I have ever met.
Perhaps you were referring to some kind of cockiness and arrogance on ice that I missed, or you have met him and I missed that too? Please advise.
Thanks.

by ryanl on May 16, 2009 12:46 AM EDT reply actions

I have not net Dominic Moore

When I referred to him as “cock and arrogant” I was referring to his contract talks with the Leafs. I could have used other words like over-valued or stubborn but he publicly refused to sign with the Leafs because they weren’t offering enough money. How much does a role player expect to get? One million per season would be too much for a player like Moore. He’ll bring his energy every night but he is only as good as the players around him.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on May 16, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Whether or not Moore is cocky and arrogant is not really an issue. The issue is “Is Moore talented enough to merit a spot on the Sabres roster?” The obvious answer is not only ’no", nor is it even “hell, no!” It is, “Whatever made Niles think that he was worth that kind of price to begin with?”

I said this at the time the trade was made and I will repeat it again now: The Moore trade is one of the worst in Sabres’ history. They gave the Leafs a second rounder for a marginal talent who hadn’t done diddly his whole career. While trading for a 22 year old kid with those kind of stats might have been justifiable, trading for a 28 year old vet already on his way down was wholly unforgivable.

"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England

by Calvert on May 21, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Technically you're right

The Sabres did trade a second round pick for Cole. Keep in mind that the second round pick was acquired in the Kotalik trade. They basically traded Kotalik for Moore but they did it in separate trades.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on May 21, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

What would have been so bad about keeping the 2nd rounder? Or at least trading that 2nd rounder for someone worth it. The Leafs gave up Nik Antropov on the same day for a 2nd rounder. What made Regier think that Moore had the same value?

"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England

by Calvert on May 23, 2009 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions