Former Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev returns to Tampa a new man
SALT LAKE CITY — Mikhail Sergachev gushes about his new life in Utah: the change in seasons, his large backyard, a community that’s quickly embraced him and his family.
Nearly nine months after the Lightning dealt him in a surprise predraft trade, it’s clear the defenseman is not only adjusting well but flourishing.
“Tampa is my second home,” Sergachev said last week. “I had my kid there. I pretty much got married there with my wife. I love Tampa. I’ve always loved going there. Maybe I’ll end up living there, but you never know. But at this stage in my career, I love being here.”
Before the June 29 trade that sent him to Utah for J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie and a couple of draft picks, Sergachev was part of the Lightning’s long-term future. Signed through 2030-31, he was the heir apparent to the No. 1 defenseman role after learning from Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh.
But the deal, made two days before Sergachev’s no-trade clause kicked in, might have been the best thing for both his career and the Utah Hockey Club in its first season since relocating from Arizona.
“It was a huge shot in the arm for everybody,” said Utah coach André Tourigny. “It was a key position. He was a superstar player, a key addition in the transition we were going through, at that age right in the prime of his career, at the perfect age for the rest of our team.
“... The experience he had, the Stanley Cup championships, the calm he brought, all of that just grew during the season because we learned to know him and learned what he brings to the team and how serious he is. All the stuff you can hear about but you don’t know until you’re with him every day.”
Before he faced the Lightning for the first time since the trade Saturday in Salt Lake City (Utah won 6-4), Sergachev tried to deflect attention from himself. Playing against former teammates has become a way of life as the Lightning roster has turned over the past few seasons. If he played with a chip on his shoulder, Sergachev said, it would not be because he had been traded but because Utah is trying to surprise the NHL by making the postseason after having the fourth-fewest points in the Western Conference last season, 22 out of a playoff spot.
Now, less than a week later, Sergachev is set to play his first game back in Tampa. It’s certain he’ll receive a rousing ovation from the crowd following a video tribute Thursday at Amalie Arena.
“I try not to put expectations on anything like that,” Sergachev said. “Whatever I feel is what I will feel, but I don’t want to think about it.”
A new leader
Though he is still just 26, the winning resume Sergachev brought to Utah made him an immediate franchise fixture. In Tampa, he deferred to veterans like Hedman and Steven Stamkos. But in Utah, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup winner from one of the NHL’s most well-regarded organizations. He brought 100 games of playoff experience to the league’s ninth-youngest team, one not only learning how to win but trying to win over a new hockey market.
“People always forget how tough it is to win,” Tourigny said. “(The Lightning) were down in a (playoff) series. They were a failure as well. After they won the Presidents' Trophy and they lost in four games against Columbus (in 2019). That’s a battle scar. So now, when you talk about urgency, you know better.
“... We have a young team who’s growing, who needs battle scars, and having those guys who have those battle scars, who have been through it, who can talk about it, the guys in the trenches with you, I think that helps a lot.”
Sergachev started Monday ranked fifth among NHL defensemen in ice time, averaging 25:18. He’s one of only four defensemen to score double-digit goals (with a career-high 13 in 66 games) and average at least 25 minutes per game. The other three — Columbus’ Zach Werenski, Colorado’s Cale Makar and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes — are frontrunners for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the league’s top defenseman.
Sergachev has become more vocal in Utah, emerging as a leader in the dressing room. He’s in the rotation to wear the “A” as an alternate captain for the first time in his career.
“In Tampa, we just had a lot of voices that are older than me and more experienced,” Sergachev said. “Sometimes, I just wouldn’t talk because there’s no need to talk. Once in a while I’d say something, but most of the time I’d just shut up and play.
“So, here, guys listen to what I have to say and trust it, so I try to talk a little more. I want to help as much as possible. You’ve got to control what you do and what you say, because it sets the tone for other guys, for younger guys, because they look up to you.”
A fresh slate
Sergachev doesn’t hide that last season was the most difficult of his career. He struggled with the Lightning’s new defensive system — his minus-16 rating was the worst of his career — and he was limited to just 34 games due to injury, including a fractured fibula and tibia that sidelined him for 11 weeks.
The change of scenery helped, Sergachev said. Though he arrived in Utah to huge expectations, he could play more freely knowing he would stay on the ice even if he made a bad play.
“There was a transition for the first 20 games because we play a little different style, but at the same time I think it’s been easier for me because I got to play a lot right away and if I made a mistake I’m back out there, so I didn’t have to think about making mistakes. I’d think about them after the game instead.
“Last year, obviously, I didn’t have a good year and if I make a mistake, I’m benched, so it was different. The only guy in Tampa who’s allowed to make mistakes is Heddy, so if you’re not Heddy you’re benched.”
Sergachev bought a new house in South Tampa at the beginning of last season but said most of his memories of it are of being limited by his broken leg.
“I don’t want to remember that, but I do," he said. “That’s why I think switching here was such a shock to the system in a good way.”
Sergachev said the reception he received when he returned for the Lightning’s must-win Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series against the Panthers in April at Amalie Arena gave him a boost heading into the offseason.
“The fans, I appreciate that a lot,” Sergachev said. “When they announced my name, the rink just lost their mind. So, that gave me confidence going into the summer. I told myself, it’s just a broken leg. It heals. So, I worked really hard throughout the summer then got traded, but I think that made me forget last year.”
A renewed focus
One lesson Sergachev said he took from Hedman is to leave the game at the rink. He focuses instead on his family — wife, Liza, and son, Theo, who will turn 2 next month.
“It’s bad to say, but you use your kids as a getaway from hockey,” Sergachev said. “That’s what I do. If I have a day off, I go and I spend it with my family. Sometimes I turn my phone off. I just enjoy it. That’s what the guys in Tampa would do. … It resets my brain. I don’t have to think about the game. Just think about my family. I give them the time that they deserve.”
When Sergachev and his wife moved into their new home outside Salt Lake City, it had a chicken coop in the backyard. Sergachev decided to raise chickens. He had fond memories of being around animals as a kid at his grandparents’ farm in Russia and thought it would be something his son would enjoy.
Sergachev ordered some chicks and began to raise them. Now, he has 16 chickens, as well as two rabbits, in his backyard. As egg prices have begun to skyrocket, he’s shared his surplus with teammates.
“I bought these chicks — they actually deliver them through USPS, which is crazy.” he said. “I picked them up, put them in the brooder, then a bigger brooder, then a big brooder, and then I moved them into the actual coop. So, it was like a process which I enjoyed and my son enjoyed and my wife enjoyed.
“And when we got our first egg, it was like, so cool,” Sergachev said. “You work all this way, and it’s like winning your first Cup when you get your first egg.”
Sergachev has a thirst for knowledge. During his time with the Lightning, he began reading classic literature, he learned Spanish. Last year, he was close to taking online college courses. Now, all of that has taken a backseat to hockey and family.
“While I’m playing, I’m just gonna focus on my family and hockey,” Sergachev said. “If I have free time, I’ll read, I’ll learn how to play guitar maybe, but I’m not gonna shift that focus to something else that needs a lot of attention. I think that comes with maturity. The maturity to realize what’s important, and that’s the hockey.”
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