Grading the NHL offseason moves: Part 2

The Tampa Bay Lightning did a lot already.

The NHL offseason is here, free agency starts on Monday, and moves are getting made. We already talked about some of the big pre-draft moves here, so let’s talk about some of the early moves we saw throughout the NHL Draft and the weekend heading into the signing period.

Mikhail Sergachev to Utah

The trade

Utah receives: Mikhail Sergachev
Tampa Bay receives: J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, 2024 seventh-round pick, 2025 second-round pick

I figured that Tampa Bay was going to trade a defenseman this offseason after acquiring Ryan McDonagh and needing to clear salary cap space, but I had my money on Erik Cernak before his no-trade protections kicked in on July 1. Obviously the Lightning went in a different direction and moved Sergachev, which was kind of surprising since he still has kind of a high ceiling as a player when he is healthy and playing at his best.

But that salary cap number over $8 million for another seven years is a big investment, and they obviously saw other ways to use to it (more on that in a bit).

The one team that had salary cap space to burn this offseason — Utah. And it stepped in to make the move, and I really love it for them.

New ownership, new city, new team, and for the first time in … ever? … an opportunity to actually try and build a competitive roster. Sergachev is a bonafide top-four defenseman that should a great add to their roster. He is just one year removed from a 64-point season. And while I do not expect him to reach that level in Utah this season (or ever), the potential for an impact player is there.

While dumping salary was the name of the game here for Tampa Bay, I still don’t see it as a straight salary dump because Moser is a legit NHL player and Geekie was a first-round pick in 2022. They also got some additional (and needed) draft capital in the form of a 2025 second-round pick.

Basically, everybody got what they needed and wanted here. Utah gets a huge defensive upgrade and used its cap space, Tampa Bay cleared some much needed salary to make other moves (more on that in a bit) and still got something of value back.

Utah Grade: A
Tampa Bay Grade: B+

John Marino goes to Utah