Somewhat lost in the understandable amount of feelings from Kings fans regarding the trade of fan favorites Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell was the fact that the Kings acquired a new player of their own.
Sent to Los Angeles as part of the deal was 24-year old winger Trevor Moore. Moore is in his fourth professional season, having made his debut with the Toronto Marlies at the start of the 2016-17 season. This season was his first in the NHL full-time, after splitting time between the Leafs and Marlies last season.
Moore, listed at 5’10” and 185 pounds, was born in Thousand Oaks, California. He grew up playing for the Los Angeles Selects as a teenager before moving on to the USHL, and then spent three years at the University of Denver before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Maple Leafs organization.
Moore worked his way up through the ranks, gaining the trust of then-Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe, and played a big role in the Marlies’ 2017-18 AHL Calder Cup win, notching 17 points over 20 games.
At SB Nation Leafs site Pension Plan Puppets, Moore was ranked tenth in their most recent Top 25 Under 25 listings, with his speed and sheer determination to succeed helping to drive up his stock with Leafs writers.
He’s yet to really find his footing at the NHL level, being used largely in a bottom six role for the Maple Leafs. He’s only gotten into 27 games for the Leafs this season, dealing first with a shoulder injury, and then a concussion. Moore returned to the lineup on January 27, playing in five games where he recorded no points and played an average of 8:49 per game.
With the Kings, however, Moore has the luxury of time that he did not have with the Maple Leafs. With the Leafs trying to secure a playoff position and compete for the Cup, Moore perhaps didn’t have the opportunities that he could be given on a team still trying to reboot itself. The Kings have the time to be patient in watching his development, finding the best spot for him in the lineup, and finding ways to help him meet his potential.
Moore is signed through the 2020-21 season with a cap hit of $775,000. He is not waivers-exempt and would need to pass unclaimed through waivers if the Kings were to want to assign him to the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
With the Maple Leafs having just played in New York, Moore simply met the Kings where they’re at on their east coast road trip. He won’t play tonight against the New York Islanders but is expected to draw in regularly to games after that.
Trevor Moore, Anze Kopitar chat during the #LAKings’ morning skate in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/ImShyRg240
— Jon Rosen (@lakingsinsider) February 6, 2020