Sergachev, Marino added to shore up defense for Utah in inaugural NHL season

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Utah Hockey Club:

2023-24 season: 36-41-5, seventh in Central Division, missed Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Mikhail Sergachev, D: The 26-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 29 and is expected to be Utah's top defenseman this season. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning (2020, 2021), he had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 34 regular-season games and one assist in two Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. ... John Marino, D: The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on June 29. He had 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 75 games last season and is expected to be a top-four defenseman for Utah. ... Kevin Stenlund, F: The 27-year-old signed a two-year contract July 1. He had 15 points (11 goals, four assists) in 81 games with the Florida Panthers last season and one assist in 24 playoff games to help the Panthers win the Stanley Cup. He is expected to fill a bottom-six role.

Key departures

J.J. Moser, D: The 24-year-old was traded to the Lightning on June 29 as part of the Sergachev deal. Moser was part of the Arizona Coyotes' top defense pair last season and had 26 points (five goals, 21 assists) in 80 games. ... Josh Brown, D: The 30-year-old signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1. He had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 51 games with the Coyotes last season.

On the cusp

Josh Doan, F: The 22-year-old had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 11 games with the Coyotes after making his NHL debut March 26. He also had 46 points (26 goals, 20 assists) in 62 games with Tucson of the American Hockey League and was named to the AHL All-Rookie team. He'll be expected to play a significant role for Utah this season.

What they still need

Utah made big moves in the offseason by acquiring Sergachev and Marino but still could use another defenseman, especially one with penalty-kill experience. The Coyotes were tied for 25th in the NHL on the penalty kill (76.3 percent) and 25th in goals allowed per game (3.34) last season, so another defensive-minded defenseman with size could help solidify special teams and defensive-zone play.

They said it

"I think we've taken the right steps in the offseason, adding Marino and Sergachev ... and all these guys that are coming in now ... they're going to help us with that nice balance of having some veteran players push the young guys and help guiding us." -- general manager Bill Armstrong

Fantasy focus

Despite injury concerns that limited Sergachev to 34 games last season, he still has a high individual fantasy ceiling when healthy. He had 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) during those 34 games for the Lightning and reached an NHL high in 2022-23 with 64 points (10 goals, 54 assists) in 79 games. He's the most valuable fantasy player on Utah's roster and can be considered a top 10 fantasy defenseman overall heading into this season. -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Clayton Keller -- Barrett Hayton -- Nick Schmaltz

Lawson Crouse -- Logan Cooley -- Dylan Guenther

Matias Maccelli -- Nick Bjugstad -- Josh Doan

Alexander Kerfoot -- Jack McBain -- Kevin Stenlund

Mikhail Sergachev -- Sean Durzi

Juuso Valimaki -- John Marino

Ian Cole -- Michael Kesselring

Connor Ingram

Karel Vejmelka