Utah acquires Sergachev, Marino to bolster blue line

The Utah Hockey Club made a pair of splashes to bolster its blue line Saturday.

First, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah for Conor Geekie, J.J. Moser, a 2025 second-round pick (via Toronto), and the 199th pick in Saturday's draft.

The Lightning used pick No. 199 on forward Noah Steen from Mora IK in Sweden.

Then, the New Jersey Devils sent blue-liner John Marino and pick No. 153 to Utah for pick No. 49 and a 2025 second-rounder (via Edmonton).

The Devils selected 6-foot-4 Russian goaltender Mikhail Yegorov with pick No. 49. He spent last season with the USHL's Omaha Lancers. Utah picked defenseman Ales Cech out of Czechia with the 153rd selection.

Sergachev is set to enter the second season of an eight-year contract worth $8.5 million annually. There is no salary retention involved the deal.

The 26-year-old racked up a career-high 64 points in 2022-23. He was limited to just 34 games this past season due to foot and leg injuries. Sergachev was a key piece of the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021.

Mikhail Sergachev (traded to Utah) is a fine middle-pairing defenseman. The Lightning dumped his $8 million cap hit and acquired assets. pic.twitter.com/bMKu6o8z2w

- Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) June 29, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens drafted Sergachev ninth overall in 2016 before trading him to the Lightning in a deal for Jonathan Drouin in 2017.

Geekie was selected 11th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-4 center tallied 99 points in 55 games in the WHL last season. He also represented Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship.

Moser was a second-round pick by the Coyotes in 2021. The 24-year-old has been a mainstay on Arizona's blue line the last three seasons, playing 205 games while logging 20:22 per contest. He produced a career-high 31 points in 2022-23 and is a pending restricted free agent.

Marino recorded 25 points in 75 games last season. The 27-year-old is signed for three more seasons with a $4.4-million cap hit. He isn't known for his offensive abilities but has been a strong defensive defenseman during his five-year NHL career.

John Marino (traded to Utah) is purely a defensive defenseman pic.twitter.com/v5hMd8eUfR

- Evolving-Hockey (@EvolvingHockey) June 29, 2024

While further moves could still be made, Utah's top four on defense could look as follows for its inaugural campaign:

Utah previously had no defensemen signed for the 2024-25 season. The club re-signed Valimaki later on Saturday, though Durzi remains an RFA.

The Devils have holes on their blue line after dealing Marino on Saturday and Kevin Bahl earlier in the offseason. However, they're reportedly expected to pursue pending UFA Brett Pesce.

Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.