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BHN Puck Links: Boston Bruins Still Hoping For More Moore

Published

3 years ago

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The Boston Bruins are still holding out hope that defenseman John Moore is going to contribute a bit more during his stint in Boston.

The 30-year-old Moore signed a five-year, $13.75 million contract several years ago in what the Bruins clearly expected to give them a steady veteran presence amongst their middle or bottom pair defensemen over the years. Instead, Moore has averaged 30 games per season over his first three years in Boston, and now has undergone significant shoulder and hip surgeries during his time with the Black and Gold.

The former first round pick only played five games last season before succumbing to surgery, and joined Steve Kampfer, Kevan Miller, Jeremy Lauzon and Brandon Carlo as the blueliners that the Bruins were missing at points during the playoffs. Even when Moore is healthy, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder hasn’t been able to regularly hold a spot in the lineup and has just six goals and 18 points over his three seasons.

Still, Moore could give the Bruins an experienced hand this season if he’s finally healthy and could at least provide competition for youngsters like Jakob Zboril and Connor Clifton, if they are in the lineup. That’s exactly what the B’s are hoping for along with an uninterrupted run of good health for Moore after two injury-marred seasons.

“John’s doing very well coming out of his hip surgery,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said earlier this month when asked specifically about the forgotten defenseman. “[He’s] back on the ice, really has no limitations, and fully expect him to be healthy for camp.

“Depth and experience, I think, is important for us. You saw us lose players as we went through the playoffs last year. John [has] a 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.”

While it would be a boon for the Boston Bruins to get a healthy, productive season out of Moore, it’s clear they are not banking on it after loading up on the left side with Mike Reilly and Derek Forbort over the last sixth months.

Now on to the BHN Puck Links:

*The Boston Bruins are still expecting Tuukka Rask back this season as they view their goaltending depth as “a luxurious problem to have” when/if Rask comes back. (Boston Hockey Now)

*The Red Wings opened up a roster spot by buying out Frans Nielsen as they continue to rebuild the Detroit roster on the fly. (Detroit Hockey Now)

*Dan Kingerski answers all of your burning Pittsburgh Penguins questions in a Q&A that he recently published. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

*Is it a great signal to young hockey players when Auston Matthews is on the cover of the EA Sports video game after the Maple Leafs have been a complete playoff failure over the years? Wouldn’t Brayden Point be a better choice? Or Victor Hedman?

*It’s a smart move by Owen Power to opt for a return to Michigan for his sophomore season rather than toil in Buffalo this year. One of the worst things for a hockey player’s development is to spend formative years in a losing environment, and that’s something the No. 1 overall pick won’t be doing with the Wolverines. (Buffalo News)

*Congrats to FOH (Friend of Haggs) Marisa Ingemi, who is writing about the Seattle Kraken these days and has a story about how Colin Blackwell might have been a steal in the expansion draft. (Seattle Times)

*For something completely different: I still don’t quite know what’s going on here with the Eternals, but this trailer at least has me interested to see the move.

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