Tampa Bay signed JJ Moser to an 8-year, $54 million contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning have secured a large part of their blue line for the long term, signing defenseman JJ Moser to an eight-year, $54 million contract with average annual value of $6.75 million. The deal, announced by the team on Saturday after the holiday break before their matchup against the Florida Panthers, will take effect beginning with the 2026-27 NHL season and keep Moser under contract through the 2033-34 campaign. The extension replaces the final year of his current two-year bridge contract, which carried a maximum value of $3.375 million, and prevents him from reaching restricted free agency with arbitration rights.

The extension positions Moser as Tampa Bay’s second-highest-paid defenseman and sixth-highest-paid player overall. His cap hit of $6.75 million represents 6.49 percent of the salary cap at the start of the contract, dropping to 5.94 percent in the second year. With Moser’s signing, the Lightning now have a long-term defense core that includes Victor Hedman ($8 million through 2028-29), Ryan McDonagh (under contract through 2028-29) and Eric Chernak ($5.2 million through 2030-31).

Originally selected 60th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Swiss native Biel has emerged as one of Tampa Bay’s most reliable defensemen. He has appeared in 34 games so far this season, scoring three goals and nine assists for 12 points while averaging a team-high 21:43 on ice. His work leads all Lightning skaters, and he also played in 34 of the team’s first 36 games. He ranks first among Tampa Bay defensemen in games played, average ice time, rebounds (14) and blocks (43, tied), while he’s near the top in points and assists.

The numbers tell only part of the story; The 25-year-old brings much more than goals. He leads the Lightning with a plus-24 rating, which is third among all NHL defensemen and sixth among all skaters. He was elite defensively, leading the team’s defensemen with a 57.8% Corsi For at even strength and a 94.6% on-ice save percentage. According to MoneyPuck, Moser leads all NHL defensemen with at least 200 minutes played in goals on the ice with a percentage of 73.8 percent. His regularized adjusted expected goals against five-on-five ranks fourth among NHL defensemen this season.

Since being acquired by the Utah Mammoths in June 2024 as part of the trade that sent Mikhail Sergachev from Tampa Bay, Moser has played in 88 regular season games with Tampa Bay, collecting five goals, 26 points and a plus-44 rating. That plus-minus figure is the fourth-highest among all NHL defensemen during that span. During his NHL career with the Lightning and Arizona, Moser played in 293 games, recording 21 goals, 98 points and a plus-17 rating while averaging more than 20 minutes per game.