Boston Bruins: John Moore needs to be moved on sooner rather than later

The Boston Bruins need to move on from injured defenseman, John Moore. Unfortunately the market for that type of player doesn’t really exist.

Teams are showing an increasing willingness to out faith in their youth, even on defense. Even the Boston Bruins opt for it; Charlie McAvoy is a prime example. Whereas, once upon a time they’d seek experience like John Moore, now it’s a case of taking a bet on potential.

We continually hear suggestion that the worst contract on the team is David Backes. Granted, his $6 million cap hit for the next two seasons isn’t too great, especially given his production dropped right off the cliff last year.

However, John Moore could arguably be seen as having the worst deal. Moore will cost the Boston Bruins, for the next four years, $2.75 million per season; right now, the second-highest defenseman cap hit on the team.

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Consider that when contracts are signed by Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, they’ll be above him in terms of cost and that Zdeno Chara is likely starting the year above him on the depth chart and we’re talking almost $3 million per season for a bottom-pairing guy.

The Boston Bruins could claim back $1.1 million by moving him down to play with the youngsters in Providence, but it’s not exactly the done thing to demote an NHL veteran.

At 28 years-old, John Moore can still offer plenty to the team, it’s just that his contract is a little cost-prohibitive given the make-up of the defense. Not only that, there’s a line of guys waiting for their chance behind him.

Perhaps it makes sense to push him up the line-up and see how he goes alongside Charlie McAvoy, meaning you can give Zdeno Chara a bit more of a break. Suddenly his cap hit isn’t as nasty when he’s playing 21 minutes a night.

Alternatively, there is always the option to admit that the Boston Bruins got it wrong with the term of the contract and wear it for the next eight years, by way of a buyout.

Buying out John Moore works favourably for the Boston Bruins and potentially for the player too. He is trapped behind some very talented players and can’t really be expecting even top-four minutes on any given night.

Given the chance to try-out elsewhere, there’s every opportunity to find that level of ice-time. The rebuilding Ottawa Senators spring to mind as an option, for example. The negative of this approach though is that they know the player is currently injured and it feels incredibly harsh to release an injured guy knowing he likely won’t be picked up at least this year.

A buy-out for the Boston Bruins is beneficial to the tune of a $2.375 million saving against this year’s cap; that money could be the difference-maker in terms of getting Carlo and McAvoy signed sooner rather than later. It lessens to a $1.375 million saving the next season, $1.875 the year after and in it’s final year, $1.375 million.

The bad news is such a deal would mean holding on to lost money to the tune of $875,000 for four further seasons after the savings. Perhaps though, that’s a decision the Boston Bruins make; after all those dollars are literally one entry-level deal.

John Moore needs to be moved on; we just need to wait and see whether the Boston Bruins are willing to pull the trigger this year or not.