JJ Moser, Lightning grades for $54 million contract extension

The Tampa Bay Lightning are having a solid season, currently sitting third in the Atlantic Division. They also just made a move for their future, signing JJ Moser to an eight-year $54 million contract extension. This was a deal that was solid for both sides, and everyone involved should be pleased with the outcome.

The Lightning are currently 22-13-3, and a part of the success of the team has been the play of Moser this year. He has played in 36 games for the team, finding the back of the net three times and adding nine assists.  Meanwhile, he leads the team in plus/minus tating this year, having a +25 rating.

Moser was the 60th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. He made his NHL debut during the 2021-2022 season, playing 43 games with the Coyotes, scoring four goals and adding 11 assists. The next two seasons, Moser would be a model of consistency. He missed just two games, while lighting the lamp 12 times and adding 45 helpers. Moser’s contract was transferred to the Utah Hockey Club when the Arizona Coyotes ceased operations.

He would never take the ice for Utah, being traded to the Lightning as part of the deal that sent Mikhail Sergachev to Utah. The Swiss native signed a two-year deal with the club that expired at the end of this season. In his first year with the Lightning, he played in 54 games with two goals and 12 assists. He also played in five playoff games. Now, he will be in Tampa for the foreseeable future.

JJ Moser grade

From the stance of money and stability, this was a solid deal for Moser. To begin with, the defender is getting a substantial raise. Last season and this season, he made $3.75 million and will be doubling his salary per year next season. Further, he went from 3.5% of the salary cap to 6.5 % of the cap. Meanwhile, he is bringing in much of the contract early in the deal. He will have a smaller base salary for the next two years, but bring in over $15 million in signing bonuses over the first two years of the deal.

Meanwhile, he now has an eight-year deal. With the new collective bargaining agreement, an eight-year deal will not be possible, as the new maximum for a player resigning with their current team is just seven years. Further, Moser will be 26 years old when the new deal takes effect, meaning that he will be turning 34 when he is ready to sign a new deal. This means Moser can still get one more major payday for the blueline, but until then, he has stability. He also knows it will likely be in Tampa unless he chooses to move on or Tampa moves him quickly. He has a no-trade clause that kicks in for the 2027-28 season, and changes to a modified, 16-team no-trade list in 2030-2031.

Still, he may have left some money on the table. Moser is having a career year on the defensive side of the ice and is fourth in the NHL in 5v5 adjusted expected goals per game. He is not getting paid like a top-four defender, and the comparable contracts of players like Neal Pionk and Justin Faulk show he may be slightly underpaid. Further, the length of the deal does not properly take into account the growing salary cap. By the end of the contract, he will be making a projected 4.2% of the salary cap. That is not much higher than he had in the 2024-25 season. Overall, this is a solid deal, and he took advantage of where he is currently playing. He could have bet on himself and possibly gotten more.

JJ Moser Contract Grade: B

Tampa Bay Lightning Grade

The Lightning got a great deal here. Moser has been a major part of this defense. They are currently fifth in the NHL in goals-against per game and second on the penalty kill. It is also a defense that is missing two of its top defenders. Victor Hedman is on IR and has played in just 18 games this year. Meanwhile, Ryan McDonagh is also on IR and also has played in just 18 games. The three of them are all top rotation-level defenders, giving the Lightning a second rotation with a top rotation defender on it.

This is also a long-term deal. This means the top three defenders on the team are all signed through the 2028-2029 season. Combining that with the fact that Andrei Vasilevskiy is signed through 2027-2028, the defense is nearly set in 5v5 situations plus the penalty kill for three more seasons beyond this season.

From a salary cap perspective, this was also an amazing deal. They currently have $21 million in cap space remaining for 2026-27, which is after adding in the deal for Moser. This gives them plenty of cap space to sign another defender, plus bring back Darren Raddysh and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Based on the current projection, even if the Lightning brought every pending free agent back, they would still have $11 million in cap space. This means they can sign a top-end free agent in the summer and improve an already solid team. This was a perfect deal for the Lightning, and it gives them a chance to compete for years to come.

Tampa Bay Lightning Grade: A

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