(Coach Pete) DeBoer spoke a little bit today about the ineffectiveness of the second line. Michael Frolik has played better than Reinprecht and Cory Stillman, but as a whole the line has been subpar. One interesting note: DeBoer said Moore is capable of playing on the Panthers’ second line and that he considers every forward spot up for competition below the top line of Horton, Stephen Weiss and David Booth.
– South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Steve Gorten (and a wealth of solid stuff from practice is included)
Just what does Moore bring to the club? A lot has been made of his faceoff prowess, and perhaps rightfully so: in 63 games with TOR last year, he placed second on the team among those who played more than 60 contests. (One could focus on his short stint after the trade deadline with BUF as a potential harbinger of things to come, but 18 games with a new team and unfamiliar surroundings do not a player make. Argue it in the comments.) He banged out a 54.8 winning percentage in the category, which crushes all Panthers from that year – by a wide margin (Stephen Weiss led Florida with 50.9%). On a club gasping for faceoff wins, this can only be looked at as a very nice addition.
Statistically, there’s nothing flashy about his numbers, but that faceoff percentage should stick out like a hammer-battered thumb on a team of collective faceoff retardation. Anyway, here’s his first “GrowlTV”: