Lightning & Utah Complete Mikhail Sergachev Blockbuster Trade

Mikhail Sergachev is heading to Utah.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for defenseman J.J. Moser, forward Conor Geekie, a 2025 second-round pick, and the No. 199 pick of this year's draft. The Lightning are also not retaining any of Sergachev's $8.5 million cap hit. 

With the Lightning having very little cap space and still needing to re-sign Steven Stamkos, players on their roster, like have come up as trade candidates. However, Sergachev's name has not come up often, so this move is certainly surprising. Now, the Lightning have far more cap flexibility to work with to re-sign Stamkos but also lost one of their best defenders in the process. 

However, they have added a pretty solid defenseman in Moser. The 24-year-old quietly emerged as a top-four defender over the last few seasons and should carry a similar role with the Lightning. In 80 games last season, he had five goals and 26 points. 

The Lightning have also added a promising prospect in Geekie. The 6-foot-4 center was selected 11th overall by the Arizona Coyotes during the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and has top-six potential. During this past season in the WHL with the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos, he posted 43 goals and 99 points in 55 games. He should now be considered Tampa Bay's best prospect.