To say John Moore is happy to be a member of the Boston Bruins would be a huge understatement.
The former New Jersey Devils defenseman signed a five-year contract with Boston on Sunday that will pay the 27-year-old $2.75 million annually. And during his first meeting with Bruins media, Moore, an Illinois native, revealed he has a pretty cool connection with the city of Boston, as well as admiration for its storied hockey team.
“My grandfather grew up, born and raised in Dorchester, so my family is pretty familiar with the city,” he said. “He’s a life-long Bruins fan and that kind of translated to my dad. Growing up in Chicago though, it’s kind of tough to follow the Bruins but I’ve always had a very deep appreciation for this franchise.
“You look from an outsider’s perspective, the culture, guys like (Patrice) Bergeron and (Zdeno) Chara. It’s just really exciting to join that.”
Moore is excited to begin working with his new teammates, especially fellow blueliner Torey Krug, who he already has a relationship with.
“I played in the World Championships with Torey Krug and stayed in touch with him,” Moore said. “He’s a great guy and I had a lot of fun with him playing overseas in the tournament. We spoke briefly, after I signed he reached out and I think really highly of him and obviously on the ice too, he’s a great player.
“And outside Torey I don’t really know many guys there in Boston but I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
The addition of Moore gives the Bruins another physical, puck-moving defenseman. It also means they now have four left-shot blueliners on the roster: Moore, Krug, Zdeno Chara and Matt Grzelcyk.
In addition to the Devils, Moore previously has played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers and the Arizona Coyotes. Over his eight-year career, Moore has scored 32 goals and tallied 67 assists while being a minus-32 player.
