Utah Hockey Club accelerates rebuilding by trading Sergachev and Marino

LAS-VEGAS– The Utah Hockey Club accelerated its rebuild by strengthening its backend through two trades on Saturday, including a blockbuster that brings Mikhail Sergachev to the NHL’s newest market.

“Without a doubt he is our No. 1 defender,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said of Sergachev.

Utah signed the 26-year-old Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman JJ Moser and forward Conor Geekie. The contract was signed with the number 199 pick in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

They also acquired 27-year-old defenseman John Marino, number 153 in the 2024 draft, from the New Jersey Devils for the 49th pick this year and a second-round selection in the 2025 draft.

“I think they can have a big impact on our organization,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “They can both move the puck. They’re both fantastic. They can play a lot of minutes. They’re both going to be good players for us to move forward with.”

Sergachev is the big catch for Utah, the highly valued top defenseman the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes hasn’t had since Oliver Ekman-Larsson was at his best in the 2010s.

Sergachev has seven years left on his contract, which equates to an average annual value of $8.5 million. There was no salary withholding in the trade, so Utah will have to pay for Sergachev’s entire contract.

“That’s the reason for the deal, we wanted to solidify that top defense,” Armstrong said. “He’s got a good, strong body, plays hard, blocks shots, can play offense and defense and he’s won. He can bring a lot to our culture.”

Injuries, including a season-ending broken leg sustained on February 7, limited Sergachev to 34 games this season. After returning in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he recorded 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) and one assist in two games.

In 79 games of the 2022/23 season, he scored 64 points (10 goals, 54 assists), the highest in the NHL.

Sergachev has 257 points (48 goals, 209 assists) in 475 games, including 471 with the Lightning, who acquired him in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 15, 2017. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, in 2020 and 2021, and has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 100 Stanley Cup playoff games.

“He has a lot of tools that we really love,” Tourigny said.

Marino has three years left on his contract with an AAV of $4.5 million. He has 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 75 games with the Devils this season, after posting 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 64 games in the 2022-23 season for a plus-21 rating. He has a minus-6 rating this season.

He has 107 points (18 goals, 89 assists) in 328 NHL games.

“It’s exciting for us to know we have Marino and Sergachev rather than going into free agency day,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes there are good things in free agency, but when you have three holes to fill, it’s pretty tough. I think we took a good step in the right direction.”

The trades for Sergachev and Marino come less than 24 hours after Armstrong spoke Friday after the first round of the draft about the need for patience in the rebuild, despite the motivation given ample salary cap space and an enthusiastic fan base in Salt Lake City.

But he spoke Monday about the reluctance to enter the free agent market.

“It doesn’t help us,” Armstrong said Friday. “We have to let our team grow organically. We have to grow naturally. We have to be patient.”

Armstrong said Utah still needs to be patient before it can be believed it is anywhere near a Stanley Cup contender, but the significance of signing Sergachev and Marino — aside from their obvious ability to improve the team — is that they are young enough to fit into Utah’s long-term plans.

They fit the age group of Utah’s young, experienced core, which includes forwards Clayton Keller (25), Nick Schmaltz (28) and Lawson Crouse (27), defensemen Sean Durzi (25), Juuso Valimaki (25) and Michael Kesselring (24), and goalies Karel Vejmelka (28) and Connor Ingram (27).

“Everyone is roughly in the same age group and can progress together,” Armstrong said.

Utah also used the draft capital it had accumulated since Armstrong took over as GM of the Coyotes on September 17, 2020 to get better now.

Geekie was selected number 11 in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old played in the Western Hockey League this season.

Moser was selected number 60 in the 2021 draft. He has 72 points (16 goals, 56 assists) in 205 NHL games.

The No. 49 pick that went to the Devils was one of four picks Utah had in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. The 2025 second-round pick that was traded to New Jersey was one of three picks Utah had in the first two rounds next year.

“We’re in year four (of a rebuild) and we’re getting to the point where we’re starting to build now,” Armstrong said. “On a good team that’s competing for the Stanley Cup or winning the Stanley Cup, almost 50 percent of the players are already traded. We’re going to accumulate those good players and those picks, but we’re also going to have to trade those players away because of our holes and needs. That’s something we recognized this year.”

This does not change Utah’s plans regarding free agency; the market opens on Monday and offers the potential for some spectacular names such as Jake Guentzel, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Sam Reinhart.

Armstrong said Utah still needs to add some players to strengthen the roster, but is wary of the idea of ​​handing out long-term contracts in free agency.

Utah’s goal remains to build a consistent and sustainable Stanley Cup contender through the draft and, if necessary, to add influential players like Sergachev and Marino around the growing young core that includes forwards Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli, Josh Doan and several other young talents (currently excluding Geekie).

They added to that by selecting forwards Tij Iginla (No. 6) and Cole Beaudoin (No. 24) in the first round of the 2024 draft on Friday.

“We still have some work to do, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Armstrong said. “I think it sets us up to be a better team than last year.”