LAS VEGAS -- The Utah Hockey Club accelerated its rebuild by strengthening its backend through two trades Saturday, including a blockbuster that brings Mikhail Sergachev to the NHL's newest market.
"No doubt he's our No. 1 defenseman," Utah coach Andre Tourigny said of Sergachev.
Utah acquired Sergachev, who is 26 years old, from the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman J.J. Moser, forward Conor Geekie, pick No. 199 in the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
It also acquired 27-year-old defenseman John Marino and pick No. 153 in the 2024 draft from the New Jersey Devils for the 49th pick this year and a second-round selection in the 2025 draft.
"I think they can have a great impact on our organization," Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. "They both can move the puck. They're both fantastic. They can play huge minutes. They're both going to be good pieces for us to move forward with."
Sergachev is the big catch for Utah, the prized top defenseman that the team formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes has not had since Oliver Ekman-Larsson was in his prime in the 2010s.
Sergachev has seven years remaining on his contract that has an $8.5 million average annual value. There was no salary retention in the trade, so Utah is on the hook for Sergachev's entire contract.
"That's the reason for the deal, we wanted to cement that top end 'D'," Armstrong said. "Good thick body on him, plays hard, blocks shots, can play in the offense and defense and he's won. He's got a lot to bring into our culture."
Injuries, including a regular season-ending broken leg he sustained Feb. 7, limited Sergachev to 34 games this season. He had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists), and one assist in two games after returning in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He had an NHL-high 64 points (10 goals, 54 assists) in 79 games in 2022-23.
Sergachev has 257 points (48 goals, 209 assists) in 475 games, 471 with the Lightning, who acquired him in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on June 15, 2017. He won the Stanley Cup twice, in 2020 and 2021, and has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) in 100 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"He has a lot of tools we really love," Tourigny said.
Marino has three years left on his contract with a $4.5 million AAV. He had 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 75 games with the Devils this season after putting up 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) in 64 games in 2022-23, when he was a plus-21. He was a minus-6 this season.
He has 107 points (18 goals, 89 assists) in 328 NHL games.
"It's exciting for us to know that you've got Marino and you've got Sergachev instead of going into the free agency day scrambling," Armstrong said. "Sometimes there's goodness in free agency, but if you're filling three holes it's pretty tough. I think we secured a good step in the right direction."
The trades for Sergachev and Marino come less than 24 hours after Armstrong spoke Friday following the first round of the draft about the need for patience in the rebuild despite being flush with salary cap space and motivated by an excited fanbase in Salt Lake City.
But he was talking about the hesitation of diving into the free-agent market Monday.
"It doesn't help us," Armstrong said Friday. "We have to grow our team organically. We have to grow naturally. We have to have some patience."
Armstrong said Utah still has to have patience before thinking it is close to being a Stanley Cup contender, but the importance of acquiring Sergachev and Marino, outside of their obvious ability to make this a better team, is they're young enough to fit into Utah's long-term plans.
They fit into the age group of Utah's young veteran core that features forwards Clayton Keller (25), Nick Schmaltz (28) and Lawson Crouse (27), defensemen Sean Durzi (25), Juuso Valimaki (25) and Michael Kesselring (24), and goalies Karel Vejmelka (28) and Connor Ingram (27).
Kesselring signed a two-year contract with Utah on Friday. Valimaki signed a two-year contract Saturday. Durzi is a pending restricted free agent who is expected to re-sign with Utah.
"It's all around that same age group and they can move forward together," Armstrong said.
Utah also weaponized the draft capital it had been acquiring since Armstrong took over as GM of the Coyotes on Sept. 17, 2020 to get better now.
Geekie was the No. 11 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old played in the Western Hockey League this season.
Moser was the No. 60 pick in the 2021 draft. He has 72 points (16 goals, 56 assists) in 205 NHL games.
The No. 49 pick that went to the Devils was one of four Utah had in the first two rounds of this year's draft. The 2025 second-round pick traded to New Jersey was one of three Utah had in the first two rounds next year.
"You're going into the fourth year [of a rebuild] and you're getting to the point that you're starting to build now," Armstrong said. "A good team that competes for the Stanley Cup or wins the Stanley Cup, 50 percent is almost traded for. We're going to amass these good players and these picks but we're also going to have to move those players for our holes and our needs. That's something that we identified this year."
It doesn't change Utah's plans for free agency, the market opening Monday with the potential for some splashy names in it, such as Jake Guentzel, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Sam Reinhart.
Armstrong said Utah still needs to add some players to bolster the roster, but he balks at the idea of giving long-term contracts in free agency.
Utah still has the goal of building a consistent and sustainable Stanley Cup contender through the draft and, when appropriate, sprinkling impact players like Sergachev and Marino around the growing young core that features forwards Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Matias Maccelli, Josh Doan and several more prospects, minus Geekie now.
They added to that by selecting forwards Tij Iginla (No. 6) and Cole Beaudoin (No. 24) in the first round of the 2024 Draft on Friday.
"We've still got to make some more moves, but it definitely puts us a step in the right direction," Armstrong said. "I think it puts us in a step to be a better team than last year."
