'I'm Not Pissed Off:' Mikhail Sergachev Treating Matchup With Tampa Bay Like Any Other Game

Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev will face some old friends today, but he’s just treating it like another game.

At 5:00 p.m. EST, Utah and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face off against each other in the Delta Center. Utah wants to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive, while Tampa Bay is looking to stay in good form for the postseason.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 20: Mikhail Sergachev #98 of the Utah Hockey Club looks to pass the puck during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres on March 20, 2025 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT.  (Photo by Hunter Dyke/NHLI via Getty Images)

However, there’s another storyline at play for Sergachev.

For six seasons, the Russian defenseman wore a Lightning sweater and helped Tampa Bay win consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. In the offseason, he signed a monster eight-year, $68-million contract that served as Utah’s first big trade (Utah is in its inaugural season after previously being known as the Arizona Coyotes).

Thanks to the history between club and former player, you might think this game would hold special significance for Sergachev to prove they should not have let him go. But that’s not the case

"It's been easy," Sergachev said. "I'm not sour about the trade. I'm not pissed off or anything. So that's why my mentality right away was the right one, to come in, and learn, and have a chance to be what I want to be and help the team. So I think I do that, and I enjoy that. And off ice stuff, it's very easy. It's very nice here." 

Well, I guess that settles if we’re going to see any edge from the defenseman today. 

Leaving a team that you’ve played with for a while, especially when you had a successful tenure with them, isn’t always the easiest thing. 

But I’m sure getting $68 million from Utah, which is a massive contract by hockey standards, certainly helps make the parting sweeter.