Tampa Bay Lightning sign Dominic Moore
Slowly but surely Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman is rebuilding his club, today adding veteran centre Dominic Moore with a two-year contract. Moore split last season between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens.
Dominic Moore
Moore began his professional career playing for Harvard University’s Crimson. Moore completed his schooling, spending all four years at Harvard. He preformed well for the University team, culminating in a final season in which he scored 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points.
His excellent play for Harvard helped him get drafted 95th overall by the New York Rangers in the third round of the 2000 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft.
The Rangers elected to send Moore down to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Hartford Wolf Pack. Moore spent two years with the Wolf Pack, displaying his ability as a defensive forward, while still contributing offensively. In his second season, he managed 50 points and was a plus-14 in 78 games.
The following season, Moore was brought up to play with the Rangers full-time, but seemed to struggle at the NHL level, only managing 18 points. Nevertheless, Moore proved his worth as a defensive forward, finishing at a plus-four.
In the off-season, Moore was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he spent part of the season before being traded again to the Minnesota Wild. He was unable to get a great deal of ice time with the Wild and was eventually dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he spent the remainder of the season.
2008-09 was a break out year for Moore as he registered 45 points between the Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. Moore was traded to the Sabres at the deadline that season, in exchange for a second round pick.
At the end of the season, Moore became an unrestricted free agent (UFA), and was signed by the Florida Panthers. The Panthers proceeded to trade Moore to the Canadiens, and he played the final 21 games of the season for Montreal.
Last year split between Montreal and Florida, Moore registered 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 69 games.
Tampa Bay’s Perspective
With Moore, the Lightning get a reliable two-way forward that can put the puck in the net on occasion. Moore should enter on the Lightning’s third line, and garner some playing time on the team’s penalty kill.
Yzerman has done a great job, quickly putting together two formidable scoring lines, which should give the Lightning more of a secondary scoring punch next season. The Moore signing starts to mould a third line that will act as the team’s shut down unit for the year.
Tampa still has some work to do before the puck drops in October, but Moore gives Yzerman a starting point he can use to fill out the rest of his line up.
Yzerman had this to say about the Moore signing: “Dominic’s skating ability, strength on face-offs, and versatility, will be a great addition to our line-up. We’re pleased to welcome him to our organization.”
Moore’s Perspective
Moore is hoping that this time he is able to remain with a team for longer than one year. The two-year contract gives stability to a career that definitely needs it. It is likely that Moore chose to remain in Florida because he had already moved there to become a member of the Panthers last season.
Tampa will give Moore the opportunity to get back in the NHL full-time. Still with holes to fill, Moore is likely to see more playing time in Tampa than he would most other places. In addition, he gets to play with an up-and-coming young squad that many believe could surprise in the Southeast next season.
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