Matt Mouslon hasn't scored a goal in an NHL game since November 1, 2015.
The last goal that Moulson scored was in Brooklyn against John Tavares and the NY Islanders.
That's a 32 -game disappearing act that nobody in the Buffalo organization saw coming.
Today, there is an all points bulletin out on Matt Moulson, the goal scorer.
It's inexplicable how a 30- goal scorer can be sapped of all of his scoring powers in the blink of an eye.
It's as if Moulson's hockey soul has been abducted by aliens and just his physical body remains walking among us like a zombie.
Its a fascinating cold case that Dan Bylsma wishes that he could solve. The first year head coach has tried everything to kick start Moulson. He's moved the 32 year old right winger up and down the roster several different times to no avail. Bylsma has had to bench Moulson in order to get his message of intolerance across to the veteran. No reply at all. Moulson currently owns the fourth line right wing position and that is where he will remain until such time that he can get his act together. Some will argue that Moulson needs to be left alone on the top two lines so that he can work out his problems. Others will tell you to take a hike. On more than one occasion, Bylsma has spoken with Moulson about his prodigious scoring slump. To no avail. If I'm Bylsma, I'm ordering Moulson to donate all of his current inventory of sticks to a local men's league or a high school hockey team so that he can order a brand new allotment of twigs.
Moulson's nineteen year old tenant Jack Eichel has been busy scoring goals and creating oooooohhhs and ahhhhhhhhs this season. Ditto twenty year old Samson Reinhart. Ryan O'Reilly has been Buffalo's best player and has been tickling the twine. Jamie McGinn and Evander Kane are putting the puck in the net. Hell, in the past two games, grey beard David Legwnad and young pups Phil Varone and Tim Schaller have lit the lamp for the Sabres. You would think that Moulson would have been affected and inspired by it somehow.
*Crickets*
So, what now?
I'm not ready to anoint Moulson “Ville Leino Version 2.0 nor am I ready to start calling him “Cody Hodgson II”.
No, I'm not talking yet about buying out the three remaining years of Moulson's contract either. He wasn't signed to a five year contract worth $25 million only to be bought out and sent packing just two years into the agreement. Moulson was supposed to be one of the steel girders that supported the re-built Sabres. He hasn't lived up to the lofty expectations that were placed on his shoulders when he was re-signed as a UFA in the summer of 2014.
Moulson's offense has struggled mightily since he was traded away from the Islanders. The one time thirty goal scorer potted just 13 goals for the Sabres last season. He is on pace to score all of a whopping 8 goals this season.
Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma have been patiently searching for the center with whom Moulson can create undeniable offensive chemistry.
The waiting is the hardest part.
The Sabres are at the 45 games mark of the season and still Moulson continues to fail. Jack Eichel hasn't been able to jump start Moulson's batteries, nor has Ryan O'Reilly nor Zemgus Girgensons, nor David Legwand. Moulson has run out of centerman to work with in Buffalo. To be fair, he struggled to find a center to vibe with when Buffalo traded him to Minnesota at the 2014 NHL trade deadline. The Wild acquired Moulson for their playoff stretch run and were kicked to the curb in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks. That summer, Murray had available salary floor space and re-signed Moulson for $25 million over five seasons. The thinkingat the time was that Moulson would add leadership to the re-tooling Sabres while they tanked for Jack Eichel. Sabres brass had hoped that Moulson would continue to score goals and lead the Buffalo offense while the team played to NHL historic lows in terms of offensive production.
If hindsight is 20/20, then re-signing Moulson as a UFA was a bad idea.
The numbers don't lie.
In 44 games played this season, Moulson has landed just 70 shots on enemy goalies. He has missed the net 30 times and has had a couple of dozen shot attempts blocked. Moulson has scored only four goals thus far. The Sabres have lost 14 one-goal games in their first 45 games played this season. Who knows, if Moulson scored a goal in half of those fourteen games maybe his team would be a wild card team right now rather than a 28th place team. It's no wonder that Moulson's game is in a deep slumber. He's not using his lumber. He's not shooting the puck when given opportunities to do so.
Moulson is the owner of a 5.7% shooting percentage. That's one of the worst shooting percentages on the Sabres. Moulson knows the drill: the more you shoot, the more you dot the enemy goalie with rubber, the more you score in the NHL. Is Moulson's declining shooting percentage a skill deterioration thing? I say no. It's an effort thing. Moulson simply isn't moving his feet to pay a physical price to get to the interior of the opponent's defense for shot attempts and rebound battles. Gone are the days where Moulson can sit at the right face-off dot waiting for the cross-seam one-timer for the goal. Today's NHL demands that all forwards, skilled and otherwise, must crash the blue ice hunting for loose pucks and put-backs. Moulson doesn't attack the blue ice, therefore, he isn't being rewarded at the cage. Three of Moulson's goals have come at even strength while he has scored only one power play goal. In 2014-15, Moulon landed 156 shots on goal and scored 13 goals (8.3% shooting %). When Moulson wasn't scoring he was setting up goals with his 28 assists. Of his 41 total points, 11 were scored on the power play (3 PPGs). In 2013-14, Moulson scored 6 goals and 3 assists in his first 11 games for the Islanders. He was traded to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek at the end of October 2013. In 44 games for the Sabres, Moulson scored 11 goals and added 18 assists. In 20 games played with the Minnesota Wild at the end of the 2013-14 season, Moulson potted 6 goals and 7 assists.
Maybe Tim Murray should call his buddy Garth Snow. Trading Matt Moulson back to Brooklyn may be the elixir that will cure the sickness that has befallen the left winger. A Moulson-Tavares reunion may be the unbreakable bond that can carry the Islanders to the top of the Eastern Conference standings and then on to a long, prosperous playoff run.
The Islanders currently occupy fifth place in the Eastern standing with their 24-15-5 record. The Islanders continue to hold their own in the conference standings, however, haven't been able to gain ground on the teams that are directly ahead of them in the Eastern race. Serious injuries to D-men Johnny Boychuk and Travis Hamonic notwithstanding, are still holding their own. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games played. The Islanders (53 points) are right there with Detroit (53 points), NY Rangers (53 points), Florida (57 points) and Washington (67 points). The Islanders are a serious 5-6 game winning streak away from jumping up into the Eastern Conference lead. It's not out of the question that they can reel in the Washington Capitals. Garth Snow might bolster his lineup by mortgaging the future to over pay to acquire a rental forward to play alongside John Tavares. Garth Snow has salary cap space and a bevy of organizational prospects to use as currency. With the NHL trade deadline on February 29, Snow can get serious about making trades for A-Listers like Steven Stamkos, Eric Staal, Andrew Ladd or Dustin Byfuglien. Disgruntled Tampa Bay winger Jonathon Drouin would look great riding shotgun for Tavares, too.
I don't know about you but these Islanders forwards trios don't strike fear in my heart and mind. Good lines? Yes. Dominant playoff, battle tested trios? Not so much.
Sure, Snow could trade for a scoring winger and hope that he vibes with JT, or, he can go with what he knows and re-acquire Matt Moulson from the Sabres. Moulson and Tavares go together like tortilla chips and salsa. They complete one another.
Moulson and Tavares were acquaintances long before each arrived on Long Island in 2009.
Tavares, the #1 oveall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, grew up playing hockey and lacrosse with Chris Moulson, Matt's younger brother, in Mississauga. The Tavares and Moulson families became friends when Chris and JT played lx and worked out together.
In 2009, Tavares was the best player in junior hockey and was ear marked to be picked first overall in the NHL Draft. Islanders GM Garth Snow signed Moulson as a free agent when the LA Kings passed on signing him.
Six months later, Tavares was selected to the NHL's All-Rookie team while Moulson had surpassed all expectations by scoring 30 goals for the Isles. With Tavares as his center, Moulson became a perennial 30 goal scorer.
Moulson's game was very simple when he played the wing for Tavares. He put his head down and went to the blue ice.
In 2010, Tavares described his buddy Moulson in this manner:
"He’s (Moulson) so good at sniffing around the net and finding those pucks,” Tavares said. "He's a really good player. He doesn't wow you, but he makes the plays and he knows how to get it done. I've loved playing with him for the last couple of years."
Moulson's career hasn't been the same since he left Tavares' flank. He still hasn't found what he's looking for in terms of a center who can meet or exceed Tavares' inspiration.
Molson has to be longing for the good old days when he and JT were sniping goalies and making it look easy.
In fashion, politics, pop culture and the NHL, all things old can be new again.
Moulson also vibes perfectly with is great friend and former Islanders teammate Kyle Okposo, who is a pending UFA. Okposo and his wife are the godparents for Moulson's son George.
Garth Snow has done his homework, or at least if you are an Islanders fan you hope he has. He knows that the price to take possession of an A-List scoring star like Stamkos, Staal or Byfuglien is cost prohibitive. Snow would have to trade away young stars in the making in Travis Hamonic or Calvin de Haan as well as Michael Dal Colle, Josh Ho Sang, and Matthew Barzal.
Tavares is 25 years old now. He has been an elite talent in the NHL for the past seven seasons. He is in his prime production years right now. Tavares needs help. He cannot continue to carry the Islanders on his shoulders forever and a day. In his NHL career, Tavares has never really had someone to lean on. The guy is forced to shoulder the offensive load. When the playoffs begin, Tavares will be the focal point of the opponent's checking line especially when the Isles are on the road and the home team gets the last line change. Snow has to add a quality winger and a right shot D-man who can move the puck to JT and the NYI skilled players while they are in mid-flight. Reuniting the Moulson-Tavares-Okposo line may well be what the doctor ordered. Okposo is set to become UFA in July. Why not put Booker T. and the Islanders rhythm section back together for another stadium tour?
Snow also has several excellent proven young forwards to trade in exchange for Moulson including Anders Lee (18Gs), Frans Neilsen (14Gs), Brock Nelson (20 points), Josh Bailey (20 points) and Ryan Strome (16 points).
Tim Murray would likely absorb a portion of Moulson's $5 million contract in order to facilitate a reunion between JT and Moulson.
If I'm Murray, I'm offering right D Cody Franson, he of the PP specialty, and Moulson in exchange for Brock Nelson and Michael Dal Colle. Why Nelson? He, Trevor Lewis and Jack Eichel formed Team USA's top line that shocked the world at the 2014 IIHF World Championships in Prague. Nelson and Eichel found uncanny chemistry in that tournament. Nelson, Lewis and Eichel beat a Russian all star team that included Geno Malkin, Vlad Tarasenko, and Ilya Kovalchuk en route to winning the bronze medal against the Czechs.
I can see it now, Moulson and Franson will add immediate offense to the Brooklyn attack, especially their PP which is currently ranked 17th in the NHL. An Eichel-Nelson reunion would inject more scoring and play making in the Buffalo attack. Dal Colle would add needed depth at left wing in AHL Rochester.
Tim Murray and Garth Snow have done business together in the past. Why not go all the way back to the future? Murray will also be unloading pending free agents Mike Weber, Chad Johnson, and David Legwand at the deadline. Snow would be wise to spend time with Murray in the days to come. The Islanders could add some serious value and veteran presence to their lineup by acquiring some of Buffalo's pending free agents.
Moulson has a modified no trade clause and I'm sure he and his wife would have no problems relocating with their family to Brooklyn. Playing alongside JT and Okposo might be just what the doctor ordered. Who knows, Okposo may decide to stay in Brooklyn rather than skate home to Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent this July.
There is no denying the innate chemistry that Moulson-Tavares-Okposo have had playing with one another in their NHL careers.
Garth Snow should put the band back together.
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