Utah Mammoth’s 2024-25 Report Cards: Mikhail Sergachev

Goal-wise, November was Sergachev’s best month. He scored four goals, including an overtime winner, against his old team, the Montreal Canadiens. The defenseman also had three assists during the month. More importantly, Sergachev logged more ice time than ever with Sean Durzi and John Marino out of the lineup. That included playing 30 minutes in the overtime victory over the Canadiens.

Throughout December, Sergachev continued racking up points and ice time. His biggest goal of the season came in a game against the Vancouver Canucks where he scored the overtime winner for Utah. The Canucks and Utah ended up battling it out for a playoff spot towards the end of the season, and the goal helped Sergachev’s team sweep the season series against Vancouver.

Just a few days later, Sergachev beat out his highest ice time of the season by playing 31 minutes in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. It would end up being the highest ice time Sergachev had throughout the season.

Throughout January, Sergachev continued being an anchor on the blue line, playing the most out of all defensemen on the Mammoth and helping them stay around .500 despite Durzi and Marino still being out. Marino did return in the middle of January, but Utah’s blue line didn’t stay healthy for long.

After not hopping on the ice during the final couple of minutes in a game against the New York Rangers, it was announced that Sergachev sustained an upper-body injury and would be out for a while. 

Sergachev missed five games and returned at the end of January in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Similar to the prior season, where he returned from injury, the Russian star came back in a big way, scoring a goal in his first game back while playing up to his usual ice time.

After returning to the lineup, Sergachev had another multi-point night to start February in a thriller of a game against the Philadelphia Flyers, which helped kick off a monstrous second half of the season for Utah, where they found themselves in the hunt for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.

It was throughout the second half that Sergachev played some of the best two-way hockey of his career. He had multiple multi-point games, including a two-goal outing against the Buffalo Sabres. Like usual, Sergachev played a lot throughout the second half, but he did so with his usual partner, Durzi, back in action. While Utah was unable to make it into the playoffs, the team’s blue line, fully healthy, was one of the best in the Central Division throughout the remainder of the season.

Sergachev finished his first season in Utah with 53 points in 77 games. His 15 goals were a career high. The biggest takeaway was his finalized average ice time, which came in at 25:07. It was nearly a two-minute increase from his prior career high in the category from 2022-23.

You’d think that with his bounce-back season after sustaining a massive injury the year prior, which led to him being Utah’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, Sergachev would’ve been pleased with his season. It turns out it wasn’t up to his usual expectations, showing how high Sergachev’s expectations of himself and Utah are.

“I think it was average,” Sergachev said. “I can be better in so many more situations on the ice and consistent. I think my standard is very high.”

Having a leader who expects so much out of himself is massive for Utah. As someone who has been to three Stanley Cup Finals in the past couple of seasons, winning two of them, Sergachev expects his team to be competitive every season, expecting nothing less. Now with the number one defenseman role, he expects just as high standards of himself.

Right off the bat, after the season concluded, Sergachev said the long offseason should help him and Utah. He expected the team to train hard in the offseason and be fully healthy come October. While expectations are high, Sergachev also knows that this Utah team has come a long way since last October.

“This team has improved from the years past,” Sergachev said. “You can see it. You can feel it…If that’s the direction we’re going, I’m happy. If we’re improving, I’m happy. Guys are learning. Guys want to be better and win. The big positive is that you have a long summer, so you get to work on your game. When you’re winning championships or going deep in the playoffs, you only have half of June to actually relax, and then in July, you have to start skating again. Right now, we can start skating in June and get better in our game, get stronger. Guys need to get healthier. There are a lot of positives.”

The Future

Unlike last season, Sergachev’s future isn’t really too unpredictable. He’ll be in Salt Lake City for the remainder of his contract and probably longer. He has a house with his family and his animals, which he has stated is somewhere he could see himself living forever. He’ll probably have the role of the Mammoth’s number one defenseman until he gets older. It’s quite a great scenario Sergachev has found himself in.

There’s not a lot Sergachev can really improve on either. Sure, staying healthy and breaking his single-season career high of 64 points are things he can do, but he did great in his first season as a number-one defenseman in Utah. With his usual partner in Durzi, hopefully healthy for the whole season, the points will come.

We have reached the point in Sergachev’s career where he’s a role model, especially for young Russian players. Newly signed Mammoth players Dmitriy Simashev and Daniil But are just two of those players. Over the offseason, with Sergachev returning to Russia for the summer, he was spotted with the two players, including attending Game 5 of the Kontinental Hockey League championship round when Lokomotiv Yaroslavl won the Gagarin Cup.

With rookie camp nearly done and training camp coming soon, Simashev has been living with Sergachev in Salt Lake City, which is a common thing you see with older players and rookies. Yet, at 27, Sergachev is already filling into that role. It couldn’t be a better situation for Simashev as he gets to stay with a fellow Russian and also entertain his son and chickens.

“I am living at his house,” Simashev said. “It is funny because he has a son — I play with him. Do some stuff in the house. Bring some food for his chickens. It’s really good.”

While Simashev and But might not be in the NHL full-time this season, having Sergachev keep in contact with them is very beneficial for the Mammoth. It extends to already existing players within the organization as well, including Artem Duda, who is another young Russian defenseman looking to break into the NHL.

Heading into next season, playing the same role he did this past season is the expectation for Sergachev. However, the Mammoth will also rely heavily on his leadership during the season. As the team presses for a playoff spot, they’ll need someone like Sergachev, who has been in the playoffs multiple times, to help lead them into the postseason. Seeing how big a leader he was this past season, that probably won’t be too hard for him to do.

Final Grade

There’s a reason why Utah traded so much to acquire Sergachev. It’s because he can be a top 20 defenseman in this league. That’s exactly what he was this past season with his new team, leading all defensemen on Utah in all offensive categories. People are also realizing his capability as a number one defenseman, which is why he was ranked 18th on NHL Network’s top 20 defenseman right now list.

Sergachev impressed from the inaugural game onward. Just like the team, he got better and better every game. It’ll only get better next season when the defense is fully healthy and Sergachev can spend more time focusing on his game rather than carrying the whole blue line. It wouldn’t be surprising if he breaks his career high in points next season and helps the Mammoth take a huge step forward.

Overall, Sergachev is getting an A for his season. He was the definition of Utah’s defense this season, being a big reason why they were in the playoff hunt despite losing two of their top three defensemen for most of the season. Sergachev thrived in every role he was given. As a number one defenseman, as an alternate captain, and as a key contributor on the team.

Next season is a big one for the Mammoth, and Sergachev will be a big part of the team trying to get into the playoffs. It won’t be easy, and he knows that. However, the Mammoth have the tools to do just that. Sergachev will also be a big help for the future as he mentors Simashev and But throughout the start of their pro careers. It’s vital to the organization that those two become big parts of the team one day, and the star Russian defenseman will do everything in his power to make that happen.

The days of Sergachev being anything less than a number-one defenseman on most NHL teams are done. With Durzi on his right side, the tandem could be one of the best in their division. 2025-26 should be a fun season for Sergachev fans as he continues to grow into the biggest role he’s had in his career. Who knows? Maybe he’ll even challenge for the Norris Trophy in the coming years.