David Moss looks to carve out role with the Arizona Coyotes after pay cut

David Moss was drafted 220th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft by the team he would spend most of his NHL career with the Calgary Flames. The Livonia, Michigan native would go on to play for the University of Michigan for four years after being drafted, winning multiple team awards and finishing with 93 points in 163 games.

After graduating, Moss spent a year with the Flames' AHL affiliate Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights for a season. After splitting the 2006-07 season between the Knights and the Flames, Moss spent the next five years with the Flames, occasionally showing an offensive flair with a 20-goal season in 2008-09 and scoring 17 goals in 58 games in 2010-11 before suffering a high ankle sprain.

Moss eventually signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes in 2012. The injury problems that plagued him in the past seemed to be gone, and he was able to play 45 games during the lockout shortened season and 79 games last year. Offensively he was not able to do much, with 13 goals and 29 assists in those two seasons, but he seemed to fill the role of a third line checking winger/penalty killer well.

Last season, Moss finished 10th on the team in points, only three points behind 9th place Lauri Korpikoski. He went long stretches between goals and even between assists, but it was not for lack of trying as he finished 8th in shots ahead of players like Mike Ribeiro, Rob Klinkhammer, and Korpikoski.

Many people were unsure where exactly Moss would be playing this year. It was initially reported that he had signed a deal with a two-year deal with a Swiss club that gave him an out clause if he were to sign with an NHL team. Later, the Coyotes announced they had signed him to a one-year deal for $800,000 or $1.3 million less than he made last year.

The big question for Moss is what his role will be this year. Arizona has plenty of players in a crowded but solid bottom-six. Moss is a solid player and is taking a steep discount to play in the Sedona Red. Although he is not likely to break his career highs in goals or points next season, he definitely has value for the team.