When the Utah Hockey Club made a significant splash at the 2024 NHL Draft by snagging Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning, it caught NHL fans off guard.
A lot of fans believed that a player of his calibre wouldn't be traded, particularly considering the position the Lightning were in.
Nonetheless, Bill Armstrong, the general manager of Utah HC, offered some insight into the process of securing the star player.
On a recent episode of Jason Gregor's radio program, Armstrong shared his strategy.
“I called every team who had top-end D-men and told them I have a lot of picks and prospects and asked them if there was anyone who would be available,”
It turns out the Lightning's GM Julien BriseBois was very interested in the idea of offloading Sergachev's $63 million contract.
“It doesn't always work, but Julien (Brisebois) was interested and they had some other moves they wanted to do in adding Guentzel and that led to more serious conversations.”
The Lightning were looking to acquire the signing right to Jake Guentzel and to make that work on the salary cap, they would need to move some money.
After already deciding to let Steven Stamkos test the open market, they made yet another bold move by trading locker room favourite Sergachev.
Armstrong and the Utah HC were looking to part ways with some draft picks to secure a high-quality defenseman, and they achieved their goal.
Sergachev will complement Sean Durzi well as the team's leading duo this season.