J.J. Moser signed an eight-year, $54 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. The contract, which begins next season, has an average annual value of $6.75 million.
The 25-year-old defenseman has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 35 games this season. He is plus-25, tops among all Lightning players and second among NHL defensemen.
Moser could have become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
“It’s mutual,” Moser said after a 4-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Saturday. “You’re having a good season, you’re trying to get your future sorted out, and I guess the club [is] as well wants to have some security and know what’s going to go on in the future, so I think it was kind of mutual.
“The deal got together fairly quick, and I think it was a good situation. [The timing was] also good for both sides.”
Moser averages 21:44 of ice time per game, which leads Tampa Bay, which has been without fellow defenseman Victor Hedman, who has played three games since Nov. 8 because of injuries.
Likely to be a member of Team Switzerland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Moser has 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 89 regular-season games with the Lightning.
Selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round (No. 60) of the 2021 NHL Draft, he was traded to the Lightning by the Utah Mammoth on June 29, 2024, in the Mikhail Sergachev deal. In 294 regular-season games with the Coyotes and Lightning, Moser has 98 points (21 goals, 77 assists) and is plus-18.
“First and foremost, it’s the people — how the organization is run from top to bottom,” Moser said. “All the people are just awesome human beings. I think that’s most important if you decide to commit for a long time.”
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