LAS VEGAS – The Utah Hockey Club accelerated its rebuild on Saturday by making two trades to bolster its defensive brigade, including a major one that brought in Mikhail Sergachev.
“Without a doubt, he becomes our number one defender,” commented Utah coach André Tourigny.
General manager Bill Armstrong acquired Sergachev, 26, from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman JJ Moser, forward Conor Geekie, a 2024 seventh-round pick (Noah Steen) and a second-round pick in the 2025 draft.
He then acquired 27-year-old defenseman John Marino from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for two second-round picks.
“I think they can have a big impact within our organization,” Armstrong said. They can both move the puck well. They are excellent, they can play big minutes. They will prove to be two very big pieces of our team that we will rely on from now on. »
Sergachev is a big catch for Utah, the type of top defenseman the team, previously known as the Arizona Coyotes, hasn’t had in its ranks since Oliver Ekman-Larsson knew his best moments in the 2010s.
What’s more, Sergachev is still under contract for the next seven years at a salary of $8.5 million per season. No salary was withheld in the transaction.
“The reason for the trade is we wanted to get that top-tier defenseman,” Armstrong said. “He’s big, he plays with intensity, he blocks shots, he can excel offensively and defensively, and he’s a winner. He can bring a lot to our culture.”
Injuries limited Sergachev to 34 games this season. On Feb. 7, he suffered a season-ending broken leg. He had 19 points, but he has a career-high 64 points (10 goals, 54 assists) in 79 games in 2022-23.
Sergachev has recorded 257 points (48 goals, 209 assists) in 475 NHL games, including 471 with the Lightning, who acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens on June 15, 2017. He has won the Stanley Cup twice with Tampa Bay (2020 and 2021) and has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 100 playoff games.
“He has several tools that we really like,” Tourigny said.
As for Marino, he still has three seasons remaining on his contract earning him $4.5 million per year. He scored 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 75 games with the Devils this season. He has accumulated 107 points (18 goals, 89 assists) in 328 games since arriving in the NHL.
“It’s exciting for us to know that we already have Marino and Sergachev, rather than taking a chance on free agency,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes great things happen in free agency, but it’s tough when you have three holes to fill. I think we’ve secured some needs and taken a step in the right direction.”
Less than 24 hours before these two transactions, at the end of the first round of the draft, Armstrong had reiterated the need to be patient despite the team’s large margin of maneuver under the salary cap and the very feverish fans in Salt Lake City .
But he was mostly talking about his hesitation about diving head first into the free-agent market that opens Monday.
“It doesn’t help us,” Armstrong said Friday. We need to grow our team internally. We must evolve naturally. We must remain patient. »
The GM reiterated that Utah had to be patient before thinking that the team is close to being a contender for the Stanley Cup, but that the acquisitions of Sergachev and Marino injected a significant dose of youth into the plans. long term of the organization.
They join a group of young veterans that includes forwards Clayton Keller (25), Nick Schmaltz (28) and Lawson Crouse (27), defensemen Sean Durzi (25), Juuso Valimaki (25) and Michael Kesselring (24), as well as goaltenders Connor Ingram (27) and Karel Vejmelka (28).
Kesselring signed a two-year contract with Utah on Friday, then Valimaki did the same on Saturday. Durzi, who could become a restricted free agent on Monday, is also expected to reach terms with the team.
“They’re all about the same age and they can grow and progress together,” Armstrong noted.
Utah therefore used its draft assets acquired since Armstrong took office as GM on September 17, 2020 in order to improve in the short term.
Geekie was the 11th pick in the 2022 draft. The 20-year-old played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this season.
Moser was the 60th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft, and he has 72 points (15 goals, 56 assists) in 205 NHL games.
The 49th pick that was sent to the Devils was one of four that Utah had in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. Utah also had three picks in the first two rounds next season, including the second-rounder who was involved in the trade.
“We are going to start the fourth year [de notre reconstruction]and you get to a point where you want to start building for the present, Armstrong said. A good team that can compete for the Stanley Cup or win the Stanley Cup is made up of 50% players that were acquired through trades. We’re going to accumulate those good players and those picks, but we’re also going to have to trade those players to meet our needs. That’s something we’re going to focus on this year.”
However, this does not change Utah’s strategy for the free agent market. Names that could be available include Jake Guentzel, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Sam Reinhart.
Armstrong explained that his team should add a few players to complete the roster, but that he does not intend to offer long-term agreements to free agents.
The goal remains to build a team that can consistently compete for the Stanley Cup through the draft, while adding some impact players like Sergachev and Marino to the young core that includes forwards Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli, Josh Doan and several others.
A core of hopes to which were added Tij Iginla (6th) and Cole Beaudoin (24th) during the first round of the draft, Friday.
“We’re still going to have to make some trades, but we’re moving in the right direction,” Armstrong said. “I think it makes us a better team than we were last year.”
