Toronto Maple Leafs: Trevor Moore Has Made It (For Now)

Plagued by a distinct lack of offence in light of Auston Matthews’ absence, the Toronto Maple Leafs opted to recall forward Trevor Moore on Friday.

In my completely, 100% unbiased opinion, this happens to be the smartest decision anyone has ever made throughout the Toronto Maple Leafs’ entire century-spanning history. There is no disputing this. I deal in facts, and facts alone.

Okay, in all seriousness, this is a fantastic move. Not to mention a long time coming.

Both on the ice and off, Trevor Moore embodies just about every aspect Mike Babcock looks for in a contributor. His unrelenting work ethic at the forefront, Moore is also a tenacious puck hound, acutely responsible in either zone and capable of being slotted into practically any facet of the lineup with ease. Be it power play, penalty kill, or at even strength, Moore is a virtual lock to not only give his all, but to likely thrive in the process.

Off the ice, however, is where Babcock’s adoration for his newest forward will truly manifest, if it hasn’t yet already.

Moore is a success story. A living, breathing example of how hard work and trust in an overarching process can, one day, yield tangible results. All 30 (at the time) NHL GM’s passed on Moore in the 2013 entry draft. Most of them did so 7 times each. Mired in an era dominated by outdated buzzwords the likes of size and “pugnacity”, Moore was exactly the type of raw, undersized prospect who the world tells on draft day that he’ll never make it and then proceeds to spend the remainder of his career doing precisely the opposite.

Need proof? Look around you.

Just yesterday, Yanni Gourde, an undrafted winger measuring in at 5’9″, was handed upwards of $30 million by the Tampa Bay Lightning just 5 years removed from his latest stint in the ECHL. Months earlier, Vegas opted to pledge their own $30 million investment in Jonathan Marchessault this past January.

5’9″ and undrafted as well, Marchessault bounced around the AHL for the better part of 6 years before an injury plagued 2016 eventually forced the Panthers into seeing what they had. And even then, in spite of Marchessault’s 30-goal output, Florida willfully gave him up for free that summer in the expansion draft.

Funnily enough, Marchessault outscored all but one Panthers’ player last season before going on to lead the Golden Knights to an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Panthers were forced to watch all of this from the draft lottery.

More and more (pun intended), we have been witness to a trend in its infancy. Written off due to a number of ancillary factors – namely size – cast-aside assets of this vein are overwhelmingly beginning to thrive upon receiving what amounts to the bare minimum what their more gravity-blessed counterparts are offered; an opportunity.

As Moore attended the University of Denver as a means of furthering his career in light of draft day misfortune, Jim Montgomery, the program’s head coach, gave him an opportunity to become an offensive staple. Moore took it, concluding his tenure in Denver with 120 points in 121 total games.

An invitation to the Leafs’ development camp in 2016, more or less as a walk-on, gave Moore an opportunity to showcase his talents before an audience comprised of NHL management. He took it, emerging at the end of the week as one of three players – Mitch Marner and Adam Brooks being the other two – who earned ELC’s.

Marner and Brooks were both drafted by the Leafs that year. Moore, as it’s been pointed out numerous times throughout this piece, was not. By anyone. In any year.

An NHL contract now in his possession, Moore then turned pro with the Toronto Marlies in 2016 and still found himself notably buried on the depth chart.

With his game in dire need of some diversification in order to exude any value, Sheldon Keefe provided Moore with both the opportunity and the resources to elevate his career’s ceiling past that of the AHL. Moore took it, developing into perhaps his coach’s most coveted Swiss Army knife throughout his two years in the organization and, in June, ultimately rewarded their commitment with a Calder Cup.

17 points in 20 games are what Moore put forth during that Cup run. Were it not for Andreas Johnsson, he would almost certainly have been named postseason MVP.

Finally, we reach the present day. By way of offseason departures and inevitable roster turnover in this summer, 2018-19 presented Moore with an opportunity to firmly cement himself as one of the Marlies’ marquee stars.

Moore, and stop me if you’ve heard this one, took it. With 8 goals, 4 assists and 12 points – 9 coming at even strength, mind you – produced across his first 10 games of the season, Moore’s stat line merely confirmed what Kyle Dubas had otherwise already been privy too. He was ready.

Playing directly into hockey’s inescapably cyclical nature, Moore now finds himself in the midst of an all-too-familiar situation.

The stage is set. Promoted to a Leafs team who longs desperately for any semblance of secondary scoring, yet another, albeit bigger, opportunity awaits him. An opportunity which, were Moore to conquer it, could place his name alongside the Gourdes and Marchessaults of the hockey world.

The odds of such an outcome are long. Then again, so was the likelihood of this under-sized, undrafted winger ever even sniffing the NHL in the first place, and yet, look where we are.

Why would this time be any different?

Thanks for reading!