According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, one of the names to watch out of Tampa Bay as the Lightning try to move close to $10 million in salary cap space is Mikhail Sergachev. The defenseman isn’t someone the Lightning want to move, but due to no-move and no-trade clauses, he could be someone a team pries out of the Tampa in the right situation.
Friedman mentions in his 31 Thoughts column and podcast this week that GM Julien Brisebois has already begun the process of seeing which players he can move and which ones he can’t. Many roster members aren’t eager to waive their trade protection clauses because they took less money in a nicer market with less tax. One of the players who won’t have much say over where he goes is Sergachev.
The 22-year-old restricted free agent could be an offer sheet target, but it might not come to that if Tampa talks with a team that is looking to trade for him and elevate him in a larger role. If the Lightning can get a good return, their cap restraints may force them to consider a move, especially because Sergachev is currently slotted behind Victor Hedman an Ryan McDonagh on the left side.
As painful as it would be to move Sergachev, a trade might be the best option.
Try Other Options First
Moving Sergachev is probably a last-resort type of scenario for the Lightning. It’s a situation where BriseBois only “breaks glass in case of emergency’. Ideally, the Lightning can move on from players like Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde, and Tyler Johnson first. Again, all of those players seem unlikely to approve a deal.
This past season, Sergachev averaged 20:22 a night for the Lightning in the regular season (10 goals and 34 points) and 22:37 in the playoffs (10 more points). Tampa outscored opponents at a ridiculously positive clip when he was on the ice at at even-strength in both scenarios. This is not a guy you want to move without exhausting all of your resources first.
Next: Oilers Working Out Options on Three Potential Trade Targets
