Former Rangers forward ‘couldn’t be more thrilled’ landing Utah broadcast gig
Former New York Rangers forward Dominic Moore said that he “couldn’t be more thrilled” after being hired as part of the television broadcast team for the Utah hockey club this week.
Moore will be an analyst along with Nick Olczyk, son of Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup champion Eddie Olczyk. Matt McConnell will be the play-by-play broadcaster, moving with the team to Utah after being the TV voice for the Arizona Coyotes.
This will be Utah’s inaugural NHL season after the team was bought by Ryan Smith and moved from Arizona this past offseason.
“It’s a really special thing to be a part of,” Moore said on NHL Network Radio on Sirius/XM. “The opportunity to be a part of that, to be one of the front-facing figures to unite the team with the community and be on the air every night and bring the game to a new group of fans is an opportunity I could not pass up.”
Moore is already in the Salt Lake City area and said the building excitement is not dissimilar to when the Seattle Kraken joined the League in 2021-22 and the Vegas Golden Knights did so four seasons prior.
“Being a part of the first of a franchise is something truly, truly special,” he explained. “I think all of us can say when Vegas and Seattle came into the League in recent years, i think everyone saw the excitement that went along with that, and the passion of the community to receive their new team. It’s the same thing happening here in Utah.”
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Former Rangers center Dominic Moore excited to work in ‘best kept secret in America’
Moore spent the past three seasons on air with NBC and ESPN as a hockey analyst. In his roles, he worked in the booth and studio, and between the benches during games.
As anyone who ever interviewed Moore during his 13-year NHL career can attest, he is a personable, intelligent, well-spoken communicator. Moving into the broadcast booth is a natural progression for the 44 year old.
Moore had two stints playing for the Rangers. A 2000 third-round draft pick by the Rangers, he played his first five games in 2003-04 and collected three assists with New York. After the following season was canceled by the NHL lockout, Moore played his first full season, helping the Rangers return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2005-06.
After moving on to the Pittsburgh Penguins the following season, Moore eventually found his way back to the Rangers as a veteran player later in his career. He played 235 games with the Rangers over three seasons, beginning in 2013-14 when he helped them reach the Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He scored the series winning goal against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 of the conference final to lift New York into the Cup Final.
In 2014-15 he played a key role in the bottom-six forward group when the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and reached the Eastern Conference Final, losing in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Moore won the Masterton Trophy with the Rangers in 2014 for his dedication and perseverance to hockey after taking a year off from the sport to care for his then-wife, who died from cancer.
In all, Moore played 897 regular-season games for 10 teams in the NHL, and 101 more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Now, he’s part of a new beginning for the Utah hockey club, though the area is not foreign to him. He and his current wife have family there, so Moore is already familiar with his new surroundings.
And loving it.
“This place, for those who know it, it’s the best kept secret in America. It is a phenomenal place.”
The Rangers host Utah on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Madison Square Garden and then make their first visit to Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 16.
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