The Matt Moulson Era has ended in Buffalo.
The former 30-goal scorer passed through waivers on Tuesday. Rather than report to AHL Rochester to begin the process of picking up the pieces of a sweet, tattered NHL dream, Moulson has been sent The the LA Kings organization. Moulson is now a member of the Ontario Reign.
Sabres GM Jsson Botterill is sending a message to his organizational prospects that he is fully and completely committed to developing each and every one of them into NHL players. Rather than take a roster spot away from a kid, Botterill has opted to pass on Moulson.
You may have heard of Moulson’s brother in law. His name is Jonathon Quick. Moulson and Quick married sisters.
Moulson has one more season remaining on his contract after this season, which carries a hefty $5M AAV. Moulson will be a UFA in July 2019.
Moulson, 34, Scores 35 goals and 59 assists in 253 games in a Buffalo sweater .
In 650 career NHL games, the Toronto native has scored 176 goals and 193 assists for 369 career points.
Moulson will count $3.975 million against Botterill’s 2017-18 salary cap. However, Botterill and his AGMs Randy Sexton and Steve Greeley will receive $1.025 million in salary cap relief from his Moulson’s prohibitive $5M salary cap number.
Moulson, a one time Kings farmhand in Manchester for three seasons.
This Moulson move may prove in the short and long term to be a potential insurance policy for the revamped, high octane Kings.
This situation is a unique one. Kind of like a test drive before you buy, so to speak.
Perhaps if Moulson impresses the Kings, they will want to work out a trade for him.
If Moulson plays his cards right and goes to Ontario to work on his speed, he could easily find himself back in teh NHL with the Kings in the new year.
That is a big "IF" regarding Moulson's foot speed.
Moulson's hands are faster than ever. His feet can't keep up with the young speed burners of todays NHL. I'm hoping he can overcome his deficiencies and find his way back to the NHL.
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The offense-stifling system of former head coach Daryl Sutter left LA last spring when he and GM Dean Lombardi were fired. Sutter was a grinder and a tyrant at time. He was feared by many playerswhen he arrived in LA. His gritty, in your face, defense first system produced Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014. When the veteran players once and for all muted Sutter’s voice, Kings ownership tapped Hall of Famers and Kings legends Luc Robitaille and Rob Blake to re-brand the Kings into a team of relevance. Robitaille and Blake are all hugs, not slugs. Sutter's bark, bite and 1-3-1 Trap have given way to creativity flow and a culture of offense in LA. Todays's Kings are the antithesis of Sutter's squad. So much so that Robitaille and Blake created an offensive coordinator position and immediately hired former Buffalo Sabres (first overall pick at the 1987 NHL Draft) PierreTurgeon to create a swashbukling, high octane attack. The Kings players and prospects love Sneaky Pete. Look at Kempe Iafallo. Toffoli swears by Turgeon. Under John Stevens, the Kings are 17-8-3 (37 points), the Kings are in first olace in the Pacific Division. The Kings have scored 83 goals while allowing only 61 goals against. The Kings have been able to stay afloat despite the long term injury to offensive dynamo Jeff Carter.
The Kings are getting balanced goal scoring throughout their lineup. Anze Kopital has 14 goals, Tyler Toffoli 13, Dustin Brown 11, Adrian Kempe 9, Trevor Lewis 7, Drew Doughty and Tanner Pearson have three goals each.
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