When talking about pending unrestricted free agent forward David Moss, two things come to mind. First, I think about how effective the Flames forward can be on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the second part comes from the fact that he only does that when he’s healthy, which hasn’t been often enough lately. The last two seasons have been extremely difficult for Moss as injuries have limited him to just 90 games.
David Moss, 30, 6-foot-3, 200 pounds
Selected by Calgary in the seventh round, 220th overall, in the 2001 NHL Draft
2011/2012 totals: 32 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 P, 12 PIM, -3
2011/2012 cap hit: $1.3 million
Pros
Plain and simple, Moss is just a smart hockey player. He’s not gifted with the most offensive skill or blazing speed, but he uses a smart, simple approach to ensure he’s one of Calgary’s most effective possession players. Moss drives possession against basically all opponents and is particularly effective against second and third line opposition, and his underlying numbers back that up over the last few seasons.
Looking at last year alone, Moss started in the offensive zone just 47.9 per cent of the time (fourth lowest among regular Flames forwards), yet boasted the highest shot rate on the team. When averaging all shots directed to the net for and against, Moss comes out with an impressive 6.85, which is called his Corsi rating. That number is an offensive zone proxy and when it’s the highest on the team, it shows he spent the most time in the offensive zone among all players — when healthy, of course. Considering he did it with the fourth lowest amount of offensive starts, it shows very clearly how effective Moss is at driving the play from his own zone to the right end of the ice, and then making sure the puck stays in the offensive zone once it’s there.
Moss has done a good job over the last number of seasons in turning his somewhat impressive size into strength. He’s gotten much better in recent years at using that size and strength to push the puck to the important areas of the offensive zone, namely those areas right in front of the opposing net. During the 2010-11 season, Moss was on pace to set a career high in goals and would have had it not been for a season ending injury. Last year’s numbers are basically irrelevant because of how much injury took its toll.
You know exactly what you’re going to get from Moss, and that will be good, smart player. He cycles the puck well, kills penalties, and is a solid contributor to a hockey team. He fits perfectly in a third line role and can easily move up and play top six minutes if need be.
Cons
The largest, and really only, drawback to Moss is the fact that he’s suffered a lot of injuries. Since he became a fulltime NHLer to start the 2007-08 season, Moss has never played a full 82 games and only once has he played more than 64 games (81 games in 2008-09, his best statistical season). He’s had all kinds of setbacks during that time, from ankle injuries to shoulder problems. It was a lower body injury that forced him to miss the final 47 games of this campaign.
It’s hard to say any player is injury prone, as we’ve seen Marian Gaborik and Martin Havlat have much better luck in the same category in recent years. Luck is the biggest word, because so much of it is just that. There’s no question some guys are more susceptible to injury than others, but a lot of the time guys just have really bad luck. I think there’s a lot of that going on with Moss, and yet it is something the Flames or any other NHL team has to take into consideration.
The only other negative for Moss would be that he turns 31 in December. That’s not old by any stretch, but for a team that might be going in a different direction, they may not be looking to carry a lot of guys in the 30-plus age range next season.
Verdict
I think re-signing Moss would be a safe, prudent move for the Flames. With Moss, you know you’re getting a very affordable, good value contract that won’t negatively affect your cap. He’s not going to be in line for any type of significant raise, so inking him to a one- or two-year deal at just over $1 million annually is very realistic, if not a slam dunk if Calgary is on board. You know you’re going to get good, smart, effective minutes where the puck spends a good chunk of time in the offensive zone when Moss is on the ice, and you know you’re going to get that consistently. Because it’d be an affordable, short-term contract, the injury worries are mitigated substantially as well. Of all the Flames’ pending unrestricted forwards, Moss would lead my list of guys I’d like to see re-signed.