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TORONTO -- Greedy.
Money-hungry.
Too demanding.
Dominic Moore has heard all those descriptions used by others to describe himself.
And he doesn’t like it.
There is, the veteran forward says, an urban myth swirling around Toronto suggesting he priced himself out of a contract extension with the Maple Leafs a year ago, paving the way for GM Brian Burke to trade him out of his home town.
The place he grew up cheering for his beloved Leafs.
The place where an autographed Doug Gilmour stick still hangs in his childhood bedroom.
On Saturday, some 381 days after Burke shipped Moore to the Buffalo Sabres, Moore wanted to set the record straight.
When Moore could not come to an agreement for a contract extension with his beloved Leafs prior to the 2009 trade deadline, he begrudgingly was sent to the Sabres for a second-round pick.
Because he was a pending unrestricted free agent, the Leafs opted to get some kind of tangible return for the speedy forward rather than lose him in the open market during the off-season.
At the time of the deal to Buffalo, there were reports that he had turned down a three-year, $5 million US offer from the Leafs.
For the record, Moore denies those numbers were accurate.
“The circumstances surrounding the situation at the time made it seem as if I turned down a fair offer,” Moore said Saturday. “It kind of painted me in a negative light.
“At the time, we didn’t think the offer was fair. I was traded right afterward.
“I will say this: The offer that was made was not what was reported.”
While Moore would not divulge what the Leafs had submitted in terms of a contract extension, sources insist the deal was in the two-year, $2.8 million US neighbourhood, a pact that would have left him with an annual salary of $1.4 million.
“I’m not going to talk about numbers,” Moore said, refusing to verify the two-year, $2.8 million US figures.
“But you know how much I loved it here. I grew up a Leaf fan. I wanted to stay. Obviously for me not to have agreed (to an extension) is an indication of how we didn’t feel the offer was fair.”
Moore was back at the Air Canada Centre Saturday night, wearing the fabled bleu-blanc-rouge of the rival Montreal Canadiens.
How he got here is a story unto itself, a roller-coaster ride that saw him donning four different NHL jerseys in the span of a calendar year.
Having been dealt two hours down the QEW to Buffalo by the Leafs, Moore finished the 2008-09 season with the Sabres, recording single-season career highs in goals (13), assists (32) and points (45). Yet when free agency arrived over the summer, there were few takers, leaving him to sign a one-year, $1.1 million US pact with the Florida Panthers on Oct. 4, just after the season began.
Before he could get too comfortable in the land of sun and South Beach, however, the Panthers traded him to the Canadiens for a second-round pick earlier this month.
No offence to the Panthers, but going back to an Original Six team with such a rich history was a welcomed move for such a hockey aficionado such as Moore.
His first day in the Habs dressing room at the Bell Centre, he scanned all the photos of the famous Canadiens of yesteryear dangling from the walls. Richard. Beliveau. Plante. Morenz. The list goes on and on.
“It’s been amazing, what with the tradition and all,” Moore said of being a Hab.
Canadiens coach Jacques Martin has been pleased with Moore’s line, which includes the sandpaper of Travis Moen and the raw skill of Sergei Kostitsyn.
“We still have a ways to go,” Moore said. “Right now we are just concentrating on securing a playoff spot.”
That’s more than his beloved Leafs can claim right now.
mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca