What the Bruins are envisioning for defenseman John Moore in 2021-22

Author Ty Anderson

August 18th, 2021 1:29 PM

It goes without saying that the John Moore signing has not worked out for the Boston Bruins. Or for Moore, for that matter.

Inked to a five-year, $13.75 million million in 2018, Moore has still yet to lock down a full-time role on the B’s blue line and has suited up for just 90 regular season contests over his three seasons to date, including a Bruins career-low five games this past season. Now, bad luck has definitely played a factor in that — Moore’s 2021 season was ended with hip surgery and his 2019-20 had a late start due to his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery — but those numbers speak of a defenseman who’s been available or at the very best deemed one of the Bruins’ best six available on the backend less than 50 percent of the time.

The good news for both sides, however, is that Moore’s availability doesn’t seem to be in doubt for the start of 2021-22.

“John’s doing very well coming out of his hip surgery,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said earlier this month. “Back on the ice, really has no limitations, and fully expect him to be healthy for camp.”

But what about his role?

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  The Bruins may have lost Jeremy Lauzon to the Seattle Kraken, but they re-signed Mike Reilly, added Derek Forbort on a $9 million contract, and Jakub Zboril is still with the Bruins.
  
  That, in mid-August, seemingly puts Moore as the No. 5 defenseman on Boston's left-side depth chart.
  
  And though the Bruins will likely begin the season with eight defensemen on their roster as they've frequently done under Bruce Cassidy, which would seemingly give Moore a spot on the team's Opening Night roster, just what is the role on deck for the team's oldest and sixth-highest paid defender?
  
  "Depth and experience, I think, is important for us," Sweeney said. "You saw us lose players as we went through the playoffs last year. John [has] the wealth of experience, over 500 games in the National Hockey League, hopefully [he] remains healthy.
  
  "From a depth perspective and experience standpoint, I think he adds to our group and can play both sides of the ice. So for us, it's important."

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  Moore's role has always been a fascinating case study, too.
  
  It's worth noting that the Bruins haven't been afraid to rely on the 30-year-old Moore when push comes to shove. He had a stretch in the middle of the 2019-20 season where he was eating some gigantic minutes for the Bruins, and the Bruins were trotting him out there with a shredded shoulder and all during the 2019 postseason. He's also a beloved figure within the Boston dressing room, and has done whatever he can to be a value-add for the Bruins without hesitation.
  
  But among a group of nine B's defensemen with at least 1,000 five-on-five minutes over the last three seasons, Moore ranks seventh in corsi-for percentage (50.49 percent), eighth in shots-for percentage (51.06 percent), and is last in goals-for percentage (45.26 percent), expected goals-for percentage (48.92 percent), and high-danger chances for-percentage (47.10 percent). This is while having the third-highest offensive-zone start percentage (53.64 percent) out of that group.
  
  In essence, the Bruins have tried to put Moore in situations to succeed but have frequently seen play go the other way.
  
  At the same time, however, Moore’s 0.26 primary assists per 60 of five-on-five play over that three-season stretch are the fourth-most among that group of nine blue liners behind Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug, and Matt Grzelcyk. Moore’s 2.25 individual scoring chances per 60 trail only McAvoy (2.57) and Krug (2.46), and only McAvoy (0.46) has been better than Moore (0.44) at generating individual high-danger scoring chances from the point per 60.
  
  And Moore’s also contributed physically, with 3.75 blocked shots per 60 of five-on-five play over the last three seasons, which ranks as the third-most among Boston defensemen, trailing only Lauzon (4.74) and Kevan Miller (4.71). Both Lauzon and Miller are gone, of course, which has certainly opened the door for somebody to take on their pain. And on both sides, too.
  
  Moore just seems like your classic jack of all trades, master of none kind of defenseman. Which may very well be what this team needs between now and the trade deadline as they assess their needs within in a win-now window, and why the Bruins didn’t aggressively try to get out of his contract to free up some valuable cap space.
  
  "It's going to be a challenge for all of our players in terms of what ice time they're going to get with the incumbents and the new guys coming in," Sweeney admitted. "We have to put it all together. And we're fortunate that we've got a player [like Moore] that is healthy and hopefully remains such."

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.

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Author Ty Anderson

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2021 bruins offseason,boston bruins,don sweeney,John Moore