Adam Proteau discusses what the Lightning can do after Mikhail Sergachev's injury, whether the Canadiens will make more trades and whether the Kraken are playoff-worthy.

Welcome back to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we discuss a few hockey topics and break them down in relatively short bursts. Let’s get straight to it:

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev suffered a devastating injury Wednesday after returning to the lineup from another injury. The Lightning announced Thursday that Sergachev underwent successful surgery in New York to stabilize fractures to the tibia and fibula in his left leg. The Hockey News' Tampa Bay Lightning site has more.

Sergachev's latest injury may very well prove to push Bolts GM Julien BriseBois into making a deal for a blueliner before the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline. With Sergachev now probably out for most of, if not all of the rest of the regular season, BriseBois can and likely will use Sergachev’s $8.5 million in salary cap space to acquire a replacement for the D-man. Whether that’s someone like Calgary’s Chris Tanev or Buffalo’s Erik Johnson is still to be determined, but Tampa Bay is built for the now and not the future, and they can’t afford to sit back and do nothing on the trade front for the rest of this season.

Sergachev’s injury almost forces BriseBois’ hand, but he’s one of the NHL’s bolder GMs, and he’s got the motivation to make a move right away as the Bolts battle to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The problem for BriseBois will be the assets he has to give up to land a high-impact defenseman. At the moment, Tampa has just one first-round draft pick (in 2026) and two second-rounders in the next three drafts.

In theory, BriseBois could sacrifice that final first-rounder, but he’d be sacrificing what remains of the Lightning’s future draft assets for a player who might only be a rental for the rest of this season. That said, sticking with the status quo would leave Tampa Bay with one of the shoddier defense corps in the East. You can see where BriseBois would feel pressure to make a move for a ‘D,’ and you can see it happening sooner than later. Waiting for too long may cost the Bolts a playoff spot, and that would be an utter disaster for this team.

The Montreal Canadiens' recent trade of veteran forward Sean Monahan may turn out to be their only move before the deadline. Their only other healthy soon-to-be UFA is winger Tanner Pearson, and he’s not going to stir up a bidding war, if he gets moved at all. The one other possibility is veteran blueliner David Savard, who is under contract through next season at a cap hit of $3.5 million. However, he’s a valuable piece of the puzzle in Montreal, and it would take a major offer to pry him loose in a trade.

Canadiens GM Kent Hughes knew heading into the season that his team would struggle and miss the playoffs, but it’s far from a doom-and-gloom situation for the Habs. Slowly but steadily, they’re adding young players who will be part of the long-term solution, and it’s more about continuing to be patient. That means they’re very probably going to be quiet at the trade deadline, but that’s not a sign of inertia. That’s a sign that the plan is making headway.

Finally, the Seattle Kraken are currently looking less like a Vegas-level successful expansion franchise and more like a "normal" expansion franchise that has a long way to go before being a legitimate playoff contender. After reeling off nine straight wins through Jan. 13, the Kraken have gone 2-5-1. They now sit fifth in the Pacific Division standings, four points behind the woeful L.A. Kings. But the Kings have two games in hand on Seattle, and the Kraken’s next 10 games – against the Flyers, Devils, Islanders, Bruins (twice), Red Wings, Canucks, Wild, Penguins and Oilers – could be the final nail in the coffin of their playoff expectations.

In some ways, it’s unfair to compare the Kraken to the Golden Knights, as Vegas has beaten the odds usually associated with expansion teams and become the standard-bearer for teams in their infancy. Seattle looks to this writer like a team that could struggle for the next couple of years as GM Ron Francis adds elite young talent to the roster, and that’s the usual development for an expansion team. 

It will be intriguing to see how Francis reacts to the trade deadline, but to be honest, we don’t believe the Kraken will be big sellers or buyers the rest of the season. It’s a steady-as-she-goes situation for Seattle, and there’s no quick fix that will improve the Kraken enough to get them into the post-season. 

Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos also gave their thoughts on whether the Kraken should buy, sell or stand pat in Tuesday's episode of The Hockey News Pre-Game Show. Here's what they said: