The Tampa Bay Lightning sent defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah on Saturday, shortly after the start of the second round of the National Hockey League (NHL) draft in Las Vegas.
To get their hands on Sergachev, the new Bettman circuit team had to part with JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, a second-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round selection (199th) this year.
The move frees the Lightning from Sergachev’s salary, which is $8.5 million on the payroll through the 2030-31 season. He signed an eight-year, $68 million contract extension in July 2022.
Sergachev has won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning. He began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, before moving to Tampa Bay the following year against Jonathan Drouin.
The 26-year-old Russian recorded 257 points, including 48 goals, in 475 season games in the Bettman circuit. He also amassed 9 successes and 25 assists in 100 playoff games.
The organization that will be called Utah Hockey Club for its first NHL campaign made a second trade involving a fullback a few minutes after the acquisition of Sergachev.
She got her hands on John Marino, from the New Jersey Devils, along with a fifth round pick (153rd) against a second round selection (49th) and another second round pick, in 2025.
A first player of the QMJHL
The day after a first round in which Macklin Celebrini, selected by San Jose, got the ball rolling without the slightest surprise, the Sharks chose Igor Chernyshov at the beginning of the second round in Nevada.
Defenseman Spencer Gill, selected 59th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers, was the very first player from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to be drafted in Las Vegas.
Gill had 12 goals and 34 assists in 65 games last season with the Rimouski Oceanic. He recently helped Team Canada win a gold medal at the under-18 world championships.
No player from Cecchini’s league heard his name called Friday. This is the second year in a row that the QMJHL has been blanked in the first round of the draft, a first in its history.
Only 12 QMJHL players were selected during the 2023 draft, the worst haul in the league.
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