Utah Makes Big Trades During NHL Draft

The Utah Hockey Club made two big trades during the second day of the 2024 NHL Draft acquiring defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning and New Jersey Devils defenseman John Marino. The 26-year-old Sergachev is the first piece to be moved by the Lightning to fix their tight cap constraints. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Marino had been in trade talks all week and now finds himself on his third team since being drafted in 2015.

Trade Details:

Utah acquires: D Mikhail Sergachev

Tampa Bay acquires: D JJ Moser, C Conor Geekie, 2025 2nd round pick, 2024 7th round pick (199)

Utah acquires: D John Marino

New Jersey acquires: 2024 2nd round pick (49), 2025 2nd round pick (EDM)

What This Means For Utah

Utah owner Ryan Smith was expected to be aggressive with his new hockey club and he has been busy on Day Two of the draft. This squad finished 36-41-5 as the Coyotes last season and the team had the 24th-ranked defense last season according to Odds Shark.

Sergachev has six years left on his extension signed in 2022 and gives Utah an offensive defenseman who had 64 points in 2022-23 before an injury-shortened season last year. He is used to winning and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, which will help bring a winning culture to the newest NHL franchise.

Marino was a fan favorite in Pittsburgh for three seasons after his NHL debut in 2019. He has five more years on his contract signed in 2021. He is good at staying out of the box and while he won’t score much, he focuses on being a shutdown defensemen.

Adding two outstanding defensemen will help protect goalie Conor Ingram and allow the team to take more scoring chances. Led by young stars in Clayton Keller, and Logan Cooley, Utah could be set up to compete for a playoff spot this season in its first season in franchise history.

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