Mikhail Sergachev, Tanner Jeannot Make Flash Trade Ahead of Free Agent Market

TAMPA — The Lightning said an abrupt goodbye Saturday to another piece of their championship core, one that was expected to be a Bolt in the next decade, giving general manager Julien BriseBois the salary cap flexibility he has coveted for years to keep the Lightning a top contender.

But for now, that freed-up money isn’t going to Steven Stamkos, and the Lightning captain appears to be headed to the open market when free agency begins at noon on Monday.

BriseBois made a surprising move by trading 26-year-old star defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club on the second day of the NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas.

A bigger shock came later in the day. BriseBois said that even after gaining $11.15 million in cap space by trading Sergachev and forward Tanner Jeannot, he reached out to Stamkos’ agent, Don Meehan, again but didn’t make Stamkos a better offer.

“Our respective positions have not changed after (Saturday’s) transactions.” BriseBois said by phone after the draft. “For now, we have both agreed to get to July 1st. That doesn’t mean we can’t come back to each other. But we’re both going to go ahead and do our due diligence and see what’s out there and see what’s best.

“My response was to see what was best for the Lightning organization. And Stephen must do what’s best for him, his career, and his family. So unless something changes between now and July 1, and it doesn’t look like it will, we’ll make it (free agency).

The roster could look very different in the coming days without two of the franchise’s fan favorites, Sergachev and Stamkos.

The Lightning may not be a better team today, but they are younger. For Sergachev, they received a 24-year-old top-four defenseman in JJ Moser, who averaged 20:34 last season with Arizona, and 20-year-old forward Conor Geekie, a former 11th overall pick who immediately becomes the Lightning’s top prospect.

And BriseBois is now becoming a major free agent player. The Lightning’s cap space has increased to $16.5 million, so they can take a chance on some of this year’s top free agents, or explore trade offers from teams hamstrung by the $88 million cap dollars and who have to change their salaries.

“We now have ample salary cap space to improve our team as a free agent,” BriseBois said. “And we hope that this newfound salary space, our favorable tax situation, the opportunity to be part of a competitive team and play with great players should make us an attractive destination when free agents need to make decisions on where to sign July 1st. »

BriseBois didn’t necessarily want to trade Sergachev, calling him “a 26-year-old, two-time Stanley Cup-winning number one defenseman,” but he saw strength on the left side of the Lightning’s blue line after reacquiring the defenseman Ryan McDonagh last month and then decided to improve the depth of the forward group.

Still, the fact that Sergachev was the player who had to be moved was a shock. The Lightning had considered him part of their long-term future, signing him to an eight-year extension in the 2022 offseason to keep him under team control through 2030-31, making him the team’s highest-paid defenseman. He won his second Stanley Cup just days after his 23rd birthday and learned under the tutelage of Hedman and McDonagh.

“Looking at what we had on the back end, it felt like we would have a better collective group if we had reallocated some of our wealth from the back end to improve our depth at forward,” BriseBois said. “And this time of year, during the draft and free agency, is one of those times, and what we try to do is always about the collective group. It’s always about trying to build the strongest group possible.”

In addition to parting ways with Sergachev, the Lightning gave up on Jeannot, 27, for whom they paid a hefty price at the 2023 trade deadline. He hasn’t lived up to expectations, and they found a suitor in the Kings who would accept his $2.665 million salary cap hit for next season before he hits free agency.

Shortly after Saturday’s trade, Sergachev posted on Instagram, thanking the Lightning and their fans:

“I’m grateful to the Lightning for everything we’ve been through together, all the ups and downs, from losing 4-0 in the first round to winning two Stanley Cups! Thank you to the organization for giving me everything I needed to perform at my best! Thanks to the coaches, I learned a lot from you. Thanks to the medical staff, I love you guys and a huge thank you to the players I played with, you really made this moment special!

“I was proud to call myself Bolt and gave everything I had for this team! Tampa will always be a home to me and my family! And thank you to the fans and the city of Tampa! I felt the love and support from you and it made me better! Everything comes to an end, but we are forever champions and I love you Tampa!”

Heading into the offseason, BriseBois said his mission, in addition to re-signing Stamkos, was to improve his defense after the Lightning ranked 22nd in goals allowed. He made a trade to get McDonagh and boasted a top-four group consisting of Victor Hedman, McDonagh, Sergachev and Erik Cernak.

But BriseBois said that earlier this month — when negotiations with Stamkos reached an impasse — his staff began sending probes for trades and took a closer look at a free agent market than they could not delve deeper before. They decided to address upgrading the forward group, likely focusing on the best two-way forwards available.

The Lightning could also request an extension from Hedman, who is entering the final year of his contract, in the coming days.

In addition to Moser and Geekie, the latest trades landed the Lightning four additional draft picks, including two in Saturday’s draft.

Moser was a second-round pick by Arizona in 2021. Another left-shot defenseman, he had five goals and 26 points in 80 games last season for the Coyotes. He will get a significant raise over the $886,667 cap hit he carried on his entry-level contract.

Geekie is coming off his third full season in the Western Hockey League, where he scored 43 goals and 56 assists in 55 games between the Wenatchee Wild and Swift Current Broncos. His plus-51 rating was the second highest among Western Hockey League skaters. Geekie also represented Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors, recording two goals and one assist in five games.

Geekie, whose entry-level contract runs through 2026-27, is expected to start the season in AHL Syracuse after making his professional debut last season with the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate in Tucson.

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