A Toronto Maple Leafs development-camp invite a year ago, Trevor Moore impressed so much that he found himself with an entry level contract a short time after the mid-summer event. Forgoing his senior season, Moore joined the Toronto Marlies at age 21 looking to prove his worth as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Denver.
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster Preview, 50-in-50: Trevor Moore
Coming off of his second straight 44 point campaign with the Denver Pioneers, Trevor Moore was one of many names added to the depth chart at Ricoh Coliseum in 2016-17. As a rookie, Moore had to fight for ice-time. Loaded on the wings with the likes of Kasperi Kapanen, Brendan Leipsic, Andreas Johnsson, and Kerby Rychel, among others, Moore often found himself in the bottom six to start the year.
He was in a similar position to fellow rookie Dmytro Timashov. Former stars on their junior teams, Moore and Timashov had to transition from top line minutes and power play time to bottom six minutes and zero time on the power play.
As the season progressed, and injuries occurred to top line players in Kapanen and Leipsic, Moore found himself higher in the lineup at points over the year. He became more and more comfortable over the season, surpassing Timashov on the depth chart.
When Carl Grundstrom came over from Frolunda in the Calder Cup Playoffs, Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe chose to sit Dmytro Timashov instead of Trevor Moore, a true testament to the progress of Moore over the year.
By season’s end, Moore had appeared in 57 games, scoring 13 goals and 33 points. In the postseason, Moore played in all 11 of the Marlies games. In a depth role, often on the third or fourth line, Moore registered two goals and four assists.
Profile (via EliteProspects)
Age: 22
Position: C/LW
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 174 lbs
NHL Draft: Undrafted, Signed on July 26, 2016, by Toronto
Contract (via CapFriendly)
As a top undrafted collegiate free agent, the Leafs had to give Trevor Moore bonuses to entice him to forgo his senior season at Denver. In addition to his $832,500 in base salary, Moore received a $92,500 signing bonus on July 1 to put his cap hit at the maximum $925,000. He also has the ability to earn up to $850,000 in performance bonuses, for an annual average value of $1.775 million.
Moore is entering the second year of his three year entry level contract. As he will most likely play with the Marlies once again, Moore will make $70,000 in the minors. He remains waivers exempt as well in 2017-18.
2017-18 Season
With one year under his belt, Trevor Moore will be looking to climb up the Marlies’ pecking order at age 22. Brendan Leipsic has departed to Vegas and Mike Sislo is gone to Arizona, while the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Kerby Rychel could leave the Marlies lineup as well. These key top six wingers leave room for players such as Moore to grab a coveted role on the top two lines with an impressive training camp.
It will not come easy, however. Although players have left, the Leafs pipeline of wingers is ready to restock the lineup. Jeremy Bracco, Martins Dzierkals, and J.J. Piccinich all join the team to make their professional debuts, while recent European signing Miro Aaltonen could be Marlies bound as well.
After a solid rookie season where he scored 33 points in 57 games, Moore will be looking to make a greater impression on Leafs management in his sophomore year. At 22 years of age, Trevor Moore will need to set himself apart from the rest of the Leafs diminutive prospects if he wants to become a Toronto Maple Leaf in the coming years.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
