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Dallas Stars 2014-15 Player Grades: Travis Moen

Once again it’s that time of year here on Defending Big D where we take a look at each player that suited up for 20 or more games this season (and finished the season with the team) – and take a look back at their season. What was good about it, what wasn’t so good, and the lasting impression they left us as we go into summer.

Regular season statistics:

GP G A Pts PIMs +/-
44 3 6 9 8 0

Key Stat: 50% Travis Moen scored 50% of the Dallas Stars‘ penalty shot goals this season. Cody Eakin scored the other 50%.

The Good: Travis Moen was the piece that came to Dallas from Montreal in the Sergei Gonchar trade early in the season (wow does that feel like a long time ago or what?) At the time of the trade, Moen was viewed as making an impact on the penalty kill for the Dallas Stars:

The Stars acquired Moen not just as the price to give up Gonchar, but as a player who can help square up a very leaky penalty kill for Dallas and also provide some solid play and leadership in the defensive zone. He’ll likely never get much more than fourth line minutes but will certainly be used extensively on the PK when he does play.

His usage, however, did not end up being on the penalty kill. In fact, he only averaged 0:11 of PK time per game played. He was tucked in the fourth line and used mainly at even strength for the Stars. In limited minutes, he had moderate production. Moen’s play did not keep young guys off of the roster but he did provide that veteran winger presence in the bottom six for the Stars this year. His reasonable $1.85 million cap hit did not hamstring the Stars on any moves they may have needed to make to improve the team this year.

The Bad: Moen doesn’t drive possession. His Corsi on the season was just roughly 40%, which is a lot lower than many of his teammates. He also struggled with injuries this season, missing quite a bit of time after getting to Dallas. He didn’t fill that penalty kill role as expected, but he also did not block the play of younger guys either. Moen is signed for one more season. He could fill the veteran role like a Shawn Horcoff next season in the bottom six.

Bottom Line: The pinnacle of the season for Travis Moen was this penalty shot goal against the St. Louis Blues. Very nice.

Vote now: Rate Moen on a scale of A to F (A being the best of course) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season.

How would you rate the 2015 season of Travis Moen?

A 9
B 90
C 218
D 93
F 11

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