Utah Hockey Club attracts attention with new signings of Sergachev and Marino

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes, didn’t wait until the end to make a big splash on the second day of the NHL Draft.

Utah used its immense draft capital to make two trades to build its blue line.

First, Utah got Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in the new NHL franchise’s first major deal. Utah sent JJ ​​Moser, Conor Geekie, the No. 199 pick in the 2024 draft and a 2025 second-round pick to Tampa Bay to get Sergachev.

Utah then traded the No. 49 pick and the 2025 second-round pick for New Jersey defenseman John Marino and a fifth-round pick. Utah had only one defenseman under contract before the draft; suddenly they have two young veterans who will contribute immediately.

“I woke up this morning after sleeping for two minutes and said, ‘Let’s shock the world!'” general manager Bill Armstrong said on NHL Network.

Sergachev, 26, has been a mainstay in the NHL since he was 19 and is widely considered one of the top 20 defensemen. He was limited to 34 games last season due to a fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left lower leg.

He recorded 54 assists for the Lightning in his final full season in 2022-23. Sergachev is under contract through the 2030-31 season after signing a massive eight-year extension in 2022. The Lightning retained nothing of Sergachev’s contract, which carries an $8.5 million salary cap hit over the next seven years.

“Mikhail Sergachev is a proven winner and point scorer and has been one of the best defensive players in the NHL for a long time,” Armstrong said.

“Mikhail is a top two-way defenseman in the NHL, and you can’t win in this league without a star defenseman. We are very excited to welcome Mikhail to our organization and look forward to many more years with him leading our defensive line.”

Armstrong said he began “sowing some seeds” for a deal like this with Tampa Bay several months ago, and with the Lightning needing to create salary space, the timing was good for both teams.

Marino has played five seasons in the NHL, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each season. Last season, he scored four goals and had 21 assists. Marino has three years left on his current contract.

“We’re really excited to have both guys. They’re going to stabilize the defense,” Armstrong said. “We can score, but someone has to defend. So we have two good guys today.”