J.J. Moser signed an eight-year, $54 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. It has an average annual value of $6.75 million.
The contract begins with the 2026-27 season. The defenseman could have become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
The 25-year-old has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 34 games this season. He has a plus-24 rating, tops among all Lightning players and third among NHL defensemen.
Moser plays 21:43 per game, the most on the team and has been invaluable in the absence of fellow defenseman Victor Hedman, who has played three games since Nov. 8 because of injuries.
Likely to be a member of the Switzerland team at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Moser has 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 88 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 293 regular-season games, with the Coyotes and Lightning, Moser has 98 points (21 goals, 77 assists) and is a plus-17.
