Photo: New York Times

Photo: New York Times

As the lone RFA from the Rangers that is not arbitration eligible, the John Moore contract renewal falls at the bottom of the to-do list for the Rangers. Moore’s contract will become more of a focus after Chris Kreider, Derick Brassard, and Mats Zuccarello all sign, but that doesn’t mean Moore is forgotten about. If you remember Glen Sather’s history, he waits until August to get his non-arbitration RFAs under contract.

As for Moore, he’s coming off his ELC that paid him $810,000 in salary, with an additional $125,000 available in performance bonuses. The 23-year-old defenseman played the majority of his time on the third pairing, splitting his time with Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein. Moore played his weak side before the Del Zotto/Klein swap, moving to his strong side once the right-handed Klein came on board. Moore also put up career highs in goals (4), assists (11), and points (15) this season while averaging between 11-13 minutes per game.

Moore’s potential to be a solid puck moving defensemen is certainly noticeable, but he hasn’t put it all together on the ice. Right now, based on his current production, Moore is a serviceable third pairing defenseman who can chip in offensively, but has work to do in his own end and is about an even relative Corsi player.

Finding a comparable for John Moore was very easy: David Savard from –you guessed it– Columbus. Savard and Moore have almost identical offensive output and comparable #fancystats. Savard, 23,  just signed him to a two-year bridge deal at $1.3 million per season. The situation is slightly different, as this is Savard’s third deal, not his second, but market value is market value.

Jared Cowen can be used as a high-end barometer for Moore, since they put up similar offensive numbers and have similar contract situations (Cowen’s second deal was signed last year). But Cowen didn’t sign a bridge deal, he got a four-year deal from Ottawa at $3.1 million per season. That’s a very high estimate for Moore.

Some might balk at the $1.3 million price tag for Moore, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him get a little less since this is his second contract (as opposed to Savard’s third). What we do know is that Moore isn’t of the Marc Staal or Ryan McDonagh mold, earning himself a long-term deal. Moore will get a bridge deal, likely two-years. I’d peg him at $1.2 million, since the Rangers are tight on cap space, but I’d give a +/- of just $100,000 on that, not my usual +/- $250,000.

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