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Mikhail Sergachev of the Utah Hockey Club. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Maple Leafs’ Rumoured Interest in Sergachev Wouldn’t Solve Team’s Main Issue

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Peter Baracchini | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 8:25 AM ET

With the offseason nearing an end and training camps starting up, the Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking to possibly make moves that could improve their roster, either up front or on defense. While it’s been known that they have been linked to some names like Jack Roslovic, other names that they have been linked to hasn’t been fully corroborated or confirmed.

Recently, there was a report from a semi-reliable source that the Maple Leafs have been in talks with the Utah Mammoth to try and acquire defender Mikhail Sergachev. While I don’t put a whole lot of stock into the validity of this report and it hasn’t been verified by other known insiders or sources, I thought I’d give my take if it’s possible or not for the Maple Leafs to acquire Sergachev.

It does make sense to acquire someone like Sergachev as he brings more offense to the table. As of now it’s just smoke and mirrors, but this report doesn’t quite fit what they’re trying to do and address their main issue at hand.

Maple Leafs Don’t Have Assets to Make Major Move

If the Maple Leafs ever want to bring in a big-name impact player like Sergachev via trade, they need to have the assets. Which makes things difficult seeing as they may not have the necessary pieces in order to do so.

Case and point, the rumour of Brandon Carlo being involved in a trade for Buffalo Sabres forward JJ Peterka, which wasn’t enough to pull off. It was reported that the Maple Leafs were battling hard in order to acquire him, but they fell short and loss the bidding war. That’s why if any deal were to be made in the future, the Maple Leafs will have to pay up and match somehow. Even with Carlo it wasn’t enough as the Mammoth gave up Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan.

If moving a defenseman like Carlo wasn’t enough, the Maple Leafs need to sweeten the pot a little more, which may not happen given the lack of assets. They did make a deal with the Mammoth to bring in a cheaper option with Matias Maccelli which only costed a conditional third-round pick. It’s a move that could have some benefit but some unknowns as he did have a down season.

The prospect pool is weak and if they missed out on a big name forward in Peterka, they will surely miss out on an impact defenseman in Sergachev.

Moving Sergachev Doesn’t Make Sense for Mammoth

From the Mammoth’s perspective it really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to move on from a defender where they paid a somewhat heavy price to acquire and create their own blueline identity. He had his second most productive season in his career where he finished with 53 points– two seasons removed where he had a career best 64 points with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While the Mammoth are the newest franchise, if we go back to when they were the Arizona Coyotes, they haven’t had a 50-point defender since Shayne Gostisbehere in 2021-22. Sergachev had a decent expected goals for percentage when he was on the ice at five-on-five with 52.96%. With the salary cap going up, his $8.5 million cap hit is going to be extremely valuable to the team.

Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Hockey Club (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

It doesn’t make sense for the Mammoth to part with arguably their top defender, especially since they were close to making the playoffs and could have that opportunity again this season. Which is why they made a move to add more offense with Peterka. They’re going to be big players come spring time and they’re going to be extra motivated to play more hockey then.

Sergachev does have a no trade clause, but in 2027 he can submit a 16- team trade list. That’s still a few seasons away as he controls everything at this point and it ultimately falls on him to waive it to go to the Maple Leafs. On top of that he’s a left shot defender. While the Maple Leafs need more of an offensive punch on the backend, they have a plethora of left shot defenders. Unless the Maple Leafs are moving on from Rielly– which is very unlikely or even make Carlo expendable– they’re not giving up the likes of Jake McCabe or Oliver Ekman- Larsson where they have shown upside.

Replacing Marner Remains Top Priority

While getting a strong puck-moving defender doesn’t hurt, it still doesn’t fix the issue at hand with the absence of Mitch Marner. The hope is that Maccelli and other new additions could at least provide decent production lost, but what if that doesn’t pan out and the players miss the mark?

Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)

The team will be back right where they started and that needs to be addressed at any opportunity they can get. Which is why Carlo could still be used as one of their trade chips in order to bring in that needed top-six help. While Carlo improves the defense, the team’s back end is full of defensive minded players where they can part ways with him and can get more offense out of it if they choose to do so.

Could Carlo still bring in a puck-moving defender instead? Absolutely, but they could also be a better target that they could have in mind than Sergachev. If they keep Carlo, there’s always going after a defender in free agency like Rasmus Andersson should he hit the market as he brings the offense and two-way play the Maple Leafs covet.

While adding Sergachev does seem like a good idea given they need more offense from the defense, there are a lot of obstacles that makes it difficult. Be it contractually or even asset wise which could hinder a possible move. If the Maple Leafs really wanted him, they could’ve made a bigger move when acquiring Maccelli as it could’ve addressed two needs at once. Though that didn’t happen, which should put to rest any sort of potential move.

Then again, that isn’t to say things could change.

Statistics from Natural Stat Trick.