Dominic Moore: A Case Study

The handling of the Dominic Moore situation has been a great illustration of how Brian Burke looks at building a hockey team and how he evaluates players.

Dominic Moore is a great hockey player to have on your team. He is a solid checking center that brings energy to your team and has a great work ethic. His style quickly makes him a fan favorite and when given the opportunity he can put points on the board. Last season he had a “breakout” year with the Leafs and put 41 points on the board in 63 games. He was about to become a free agent at the end of last season and as the trade deadline approached Burke had to decide whether they would re-sign him.

Under past management this decision would have been a slam dunk. A 28 year old fan favorite coming off a career year would be guaranteed a big raise. Burke offered Moore in the range of $1.5 million a year on a three year deal while Moore was looking to get between $2 and $2.5 million per year. Why not bite the bullet and sign Moore to the contract he wanted since his career is on an upswing and the difference is less then $1 million per season?

The reason is that Burke is building a cup contender.

Burke realized that Moore’s “breakout” season came on a bad Leaf team when Moore was playing center on the second line. This meant that he was playing with wings that could score and he was also seeing time on the power play where he scored 4 of his 13 goals. On a contending team Moore would not be close to a top six forward and his numbers would slide back to where they usually were. In fact when he was traded to Buffalo at the deadline he went back to being a bottom six player and his point production dropped to 4 points in the last 18 games.

This is not to suggest that Moore is a bad hockey player. The point is that he is a responsible energy player that could center a third or fourth line on a contending team. I use the term “could” center that line because there are many players that can fill that role. That role however is not worth $2 million plus per year on a three year deal.

Instead of signing Moore to an inflated contract or just letting him walk at the end of the season, Burke traded him to the Sabres for a second round draft choice. The Leafs then went out this off season and signed Rickard Wallin to fill that spot. With Wallin they only had to make a one year commitment which gives them flexibility should one of the kids develop and be ready to take a roster spot. If that doesn’t happen it will not be hard to find a replacement for that role next summer.

Was Burke correct in his assessment of Moore? Well it appears the other NHL teams agree since Moore has yet to find a team to sign with for next year. Moore and his agent will likely have to end up agreeing with Burke’s assessment of his worth and sign a contract with some other team that might not be as attractive as what he was offered by the Leafs.

The end result is that Leafs received the Sabres second round pick which they used to draft Jesse Blacker, a tough 18 year old defenseman from the Windsor Spitfires. They then signed Wallin to a one year contract replacing Moore without committing valuable cap space on an inflated three year deal.

A small move overall and one not noticed by many, but that is exactly how you go about building a contender.