Jeff Moleski's 32-year-old body still has a lot of lacrosse left in it. And, as an unrestricted free agent, the offers for the 10-year National Lacrosse League veteran were on the table.
It came down to a three-way competition involving the Vancouver Stealth, Moleski's employer the past four seasons; the Calgary Roughnecks, where Moleski started his pro career in 2006; and the Edmonton Rush.
Moleski, who works full-time for Terasen, limited his options to an NLL city which offers a direct flight connection to Prince George and the Roughnecks ultimately won the bidding war.
"It was a real tough decision to leave [the Stealth], one of the hardest decisions I've had to make, but Calgary wanted me and offered a good contract and they have a real good team, which is the real reason why," said Moleski. "I think they have a real good shot at winning.
"Hopefully I'm going to have another season in me and I'll help Calgary win."
Durability and consistency have been Moleski's trademarks throughout his NLL career. Since he became a starter in 2006 he's missed just 10 games due to injuries and has a well-deserved reputation as one of the league's most feared defenders.
"Jeff will play a major role on the defensive side of the ball. He can play in all key situations and has great transitional skills," said Roughnecks head coach Curt Malawsky on calgaryroughnecks.com. "The thing we are really excited about is his great ability to shut down other teams' top offensive players.
"When you think of Jeff Moleski two things jump out at you: one, his unrivaled character, and two, his championship pedigree. Jeff knows what it takes to have team success in the NLL. The bigger the game the better he plays. He has the innate ability to raise everyone's compete level, work ethic and sheer drive. Bottom line, Jeff is a warrior."
The six-foot-one, 205-pound Moleski relishes his role of shadowing the league's most dangerous shooters. He also has great footspeed with the ability to change the flow of the game in a hurry. He finished with a goal and six assists last season. The Roughnecks lacked that kind of player last season and when Moleski became available they jumped at the chance to sign him.
Not only is he tough to play against but he has made it a habit of sticking to the rules of the game. In 17 games with the Stealth last season he totaled just 16 penalty minutes. Over his 145-game career he's served just 217 minutes in the box.
The Roughnecks are perennial contenders for the NLL title and lost the third and deciding game in the 2014 playoff final to the Rochester Nighthawks. The Stealth, NLL finalists in three of the past four seasons, missed the playoffs last year, finishing last in the West with a 4-14 record.
Moleski captured the Champions Cup in 2009 with the Roughnecks and was traded to the Washington Stealth after the 2010 season. In 2011 and 2013 he made it to the NLL final with the Stealth when the team was based in Everett, Wash. The franchise moved to Langley last year.
Despite Langley's location in the Lower Mainland, a hotbed of lacrosse player talent, the Stealth averaged a league-worst 3,590 in attendance in their nine games at the Langley Events Centre, a building that seats 5,200. The Roughnecks, who are owned by the Calgary Flames, have no trouble drawing a crowd, averaging 10,615 in 2014.
"It's just a great city to play in, they're pretty passionate people who come to the games," said Moleski. "It'll be nice to play in front of that atmosphere again."
The Roughnecks open the 2015 season at home at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Jan. 3 against the Stealth. Conrad Chapman, a 22-year-old defenceman from Prince George selected by the Stealth 12th overall in Monday's NLL draft, will likely begin his pro lacrosse career in that game.
