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 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?