Toronto Maple Leafs: Dominic Moore worth a PTO offer

Training camp is just around the corner and that means NHL teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, have been and will be offering PTOs to free agents.

The Florida Panthers moved quickly to sign veteran centre Mark Letestu to a professional tryout earlier this month, and it shouldn’t be long before the Toronto Maple Leafs begin to offer them as well.

One player the Leafs should consider extending a PTO offer to is Dominic Moore, who played 50 games in the blue and white at a cost of just $1 million last season.

The 38-year-old registered just 12 points (six goals and six assists) in his 50 regular season games in Toronto and went scoreless in the two playoff games he appeared in.

He has never been a big offensive producer in his career, topping 30 points just twice in 13 seasons.

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The 6-foot, 192 pounds Thornhill, Ontario native has been relied on far more for his defensive capabilities, holding down the fourth-line centre role for the Leafs during the majority of last season.

Moore excelled in the face-off circle with a 54.3 percent success rating, while averaging 10:18 on the ice.

His possession stats weren’t great, sporting a 49.3% Corsi rating – though he started in the defensive zone 62.7 percent of the time.

His time in Toronto was effectively over once the Leafs traded for Montreal Canadiens’ long-serving Tomas Plekanec, though the suspension to Nazem Kadri saw Moore brought back into the fold for a couple of playoff appearances.

Offering Moore a PTO, as a result, would more likely be a way for the Leafs to help out a veteran who has done so much good work in the city with Smashfest, the annual celebrity ping-pong tournament/fundraiser that raises money for concussion and cancer research.

It would also give him a chance to showcase his skills to other teams around the league, as it is unlikely the Leafs will offer him a contract unless he rolls back the years in terms of his performances on the ice.

Heading into next season, the Toronto Maple Leafs look set to hand Swedish centre Par Lindholm the fourth-line centre role and it appears the team are content with that.

Adding Moore to training camp would give them a veteran player who could act as an influencer to the likes of Lindholm, who has never played in North America before in his career.

Moore adds a body that can take on more minutes during pre-season to keep players such as John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Kadri fresher for the start of the new season.

If Moore is unable to attract interest from teams around the league, the Maple Leafs could look at the possibility of a one-year, two-way deal that could see him continue to play and potentially compete for a role with the team.

Lindholm is something of an unknown quantity at the NHL level, and the Leafs’ depth behind him is pretty sparse, with Frederik Gauthier still yet to prove he is able to cement a role in the league.

Having another veteran around the organisation wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world and, with the Leafs having arguably the best top-three centre depth in the league, there could be room for someone of Moore’s skill set on the fourth line – at the right price.

What do you think? Should the Toronto Maple Leafs offer Moore a PTO, even if they have no intention of offering a contract at the end of training camp? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!