At the beginning of the 2024 NHL Offseason, the Tampa Bay Lightning made a massive move, trading star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club. They landed a nice return for Sergachev, acquiring defenseman J.J. Moser, top prospect Conor Geekie, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2024 seventh-round pick.

While it stung for the Lightning to trade Sergachev, they received some good pieces back for him and opened up much-needed cap space. Thus, this has the potential to be a good move for the Lightning. Yet, the same can be said on Utah HC’s end.

With this move to Utah, Sergachev will undoubtedly be their No. 1 defenseman. This will open the door for more significant opportunities for the former Lightning defender, as he is officially the most critical piece of their blueline. Due to this, he will not only play top-pairing minutes but also receive a ton of opportunities on both of their special team units.

While Sergachev was an important part of the Lightning’s lineup, superstar defenseman Victor Hedman was, understandably, always ahead of him on the depth chart. However, with Utah, Sergachev will be “the guy,” and the opportunity to take another step is there because of it.

Nevertheless, Sergachev will be a crucial piece of Utah HC’s roster as they look to be competitive out of the gate. It will be intriguing to see what kind of season he puts together for the NHL’s newest club in 2024-25 from here.