Revisiting the trade in 2020 that brought Trevor Moore to the Los Angeles Kings
Trevor Moore grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, which is a short 45-minute drive away from Los Angeles, California. California is not known to be a hockey-dominant environment, but the Los Angeles Kings had a profound effect on one young kid. Growing up, Trevor Moore loved to watch the Los Angeles Kings play hockey.
And ultimately would drive him to want to play hockey himself. In 2011, Moore was 15 years old, and he was drafted in the first round of the USHL Draft. The Tri-City Storm selected the left winger with the eighth overall pick.
While playing for the Storm, he recorded an impressive 97 points in 113 games. After a stellar performance in the USHL, he accepted a scholarship offer to play hockey at the University of Denver. In his three seasons in Colorado, he steadily improved, but unfortunately not enough for him to hear his name called in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Despite an impressive scouting report heading into the draft, no NHL team was willing to take a chance on the California-born hockey player. Coming out of Denver, his scouting report was assessed by SB Nation’s College Hockey page. It can be found below:
"“Moore possesses tremendous hockey sense and puck skills making him an incredible offensive force. He sees the ice well and understands how to get to the right spot on the ice at the right time to create offense. He’s very comfortable with the puck on his stick and likely projects as more of a set-up man, but is capable of finishing off plays as well.The big area of concern for Moore is his size. Being well under six feet tall in itself isn’t necessarily a problem, but Moore’s style of play isn’t necessarily what you see out of smaller players that make it in the NHL. His skating is good enough to be average, but likely won’t be a big asset to him. He doesn’t play a heavy, physical game for his size either.”"
The main concern in Trevor Moore making it to the next level was his size. However, that did not stop Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Lou Lamariello from signing the 5-foot-10, 185-pound winger to an entry-level contract in 2016.
Moore played for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, from 2016-2018, and would debut on NHL ice in the 2018-2019 season. In his first NHL season, he recorded two goals and six assists for a total of eight points in the regular season. And in the playoffs, he recorded one goal in seven games.
He would remain with Toronto until February 5, 2020, when the Maple Leafs traded him to his hometown Los Angeles Kings in a package for goaltender Jack Campbell.
Back in the early months of 2020, it was no secret that Toronto needed some goaltending help. And at the same time, Los Angeles had an expendable goaltender in Jack Campbell. So, the two sides came to an agreement that also brought California native Trevor Moore to his childhood team. When asked about it, he had this to say:
"“I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t special, for sure,” Moore said after the deal last week. “It’s the team that I grew up watching … to be a part of this, it’s surreal. It’s awesome.”"
It was a trade that benefited both sides because Campbell was struggling with the Kings, which meant that he was becoming more susceptible to being used as trade bait, all while they had a younger up-and coming goaltender at the time, Cal Petersen. So, Toronto got a goaltender who played in a lot of games for the Maple Leafs before leaving for the Edmonton Oilers last offseason.
And now, Trevor Moore has become an integral piece to this Kings lineup as they pursue the Stanley Cup Finals, which is where he watched them raise the Cup as a young child. His dreams could all come full circle, and the first step in that process is defeating the team that has the goaltender under contract whom he was traded for.
For statistics’ sake, in his time as a Los Angeles King, Trevor Moore has recorded 40 goals and 65 assists for 105 total points; a significant jump from his time on the Maple Leafs when he recorded 13 total points.
It’s safe to say Rob Blake won that trade with the Maple Leafs. Not only for the production that Trevor Moore has provided, but also because he used one of the draft picks he received from Toronto to draft right wing Alex Laferriere. Another Rob Blake masterclass to add to his list.
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