Contrary to what you think, Travis Moen’s last goal with the Stars did not come on a penalty shot. In fact, what will in all likelihood be Moen’s last goal in Victory Green came the very next night (in a two-point game!) against Nashville:
Neither of those facts is really pertinent to grading Moen for this year, but given that Moen did not so much “score” any goals this season, you can forgive me some liberality in how I highlight the player Moen has been in Dallas.
Of course, when it came to his work off the ice, I have only to remind of you of that one time Travis Moen was cooking with Antoine Roussel.
There isn’t much I can tell you that you don’t already know about what Moen did this year. After playing just 23 games in the season due to injuries and the surprising rookie talents of Janmark and Faksa (among others), Moen eventually drew in for Game 6 against Minnesota, having retained some of the inherent trust coaches are inclined to give veterans in the high-stakes contests. The correlation between his presence and victory in game 5 was potent enough that Moen continued to see fourth-line action in the first five of the St. Louis games as well, until a broken wrist ended his season. Note: I do not know what broke his wrist, but I am going to assume it was an Alex Burrows slash.
A wizened veteran, Moen had the misfortune of being associated with Sergei Gonchar’s ignominious Dallas tenure. For someone who was essentially a living, breathing reminder of the failure of that free agent signing, Moen really did all right, this year. The nice thing about having an extraneous veteran forward as opposed to a veteran defenseman is that one can pretty much shelter him like a bonsai sapling. That is what Lindy Ruff did, and so Travis Moen spent his last year with Dallas being a Good Soldier, Setting an Example for the Kids, and basically doing what a lot of veterans do as their once-young careers begin that sour sunset into whatever less-adrenaline-fueled opportunities life holds next.
It’s weird, then, to remember that Travis Moen is 1) Younger than Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya, and 2) was once a fresh 21-year-old rookie for the Blackhawks. Seriously, I wouldn’t lie about that:
That was Moen’s first NHL goal, and much like his last (so far), it came off a rebound. Travis Moen rarely caused goals to happen during his career (outside of his insane seven-goal Cup run in 2007), but he usually was responding when other folks were trying to make that happen. From checking line extraordinaire to defensively responsible knuckle-chucker, Travis Moen made no bones about what he brought to a hockey game. If you found yourself disappointed by that, I think the problem is with you, and not with Travis Moen.
Good-bye, Travis Moen. You were a Dallas Stars player, and no one can say otherwise without being a very obvious liar.
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.
RATE TRAVIS MOEN’S SEASON IF YOU ARE NOT A COWARD
| A (“A Veteran Presence”) | 48 |
| B (“Big, Relatively”) | 74 |
| C (“Cooks Okay, According to Stars Insider”) | 140 |
| D (“Did Hockey Things”) | 136 |
| F (For cryin out loud, don’t be a jerk) | 24 |