Utah Mammoth’s 2025-26 Report Cards: Mikhail Sergachev

To start March, Sergachev scored a goal against the Washington Capitals. However, the defenseman missed the next four games with a lower-body injury. During that stretch of time, the Mammoth traded for MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames. He ended up being Sergachev’s partner on the blueline for the rest of the season, starting with his return to the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks.

In that game, Sergachev produced an assist. From there, the defenseman tallied up three assists across the next six games. However, it was towards the end of March that Sergachev played his best hockey of the season. It started with a three-assist night against the Capitals. In the very next game, the defenseman put up four assists against the Los Angeles Kings, tying his personal record for most points in a single game.

Sergachev produced assists over the next five games, ending his point streak at seven games, the longest for him during the season. The defenseman produced one last assist in the second-to-last game before the conclusion of the regular season.

The defenseman finished the season with 59 points in 78 games, the second most of his career. While he scored 10 goals, a five-goal decrease from the prior season, his 49 assists were the second most of his career. Sergachev’s 59 points were the fourth most on the Mammoth, and his 49 assists were the second most on the team. He led all Mammoth defensemen in every single offensive category.

Across the entire NHL, Sergachev finished 14th in points produced by a defenseman and 11th in assists. In average ice time per game, he was 16th in the entire NHL, playing 24:17 a night.

The main goal for Sergachev was to lead the Mammoth into the playoffs, and that’s exactly what happened. In the postseason, Sergachev didn’t produce a point in the first three games and didn’t play his best defensively in Game 1. 

It was in Game 4 that the defenseman showed off how effective he can be in big moments. Sergachev produced three assists and played 30:32. In Game 5, he registered another assist and had even more ice time, finishing with 37:35 of playing time. Sergachev put up one more assist in Game 6 before the Mammoth were ultimately eliminated by the Golden Knights.

Sergachev finished in a five-way tie for the team lead in points with five. He did lead the Mammoth in assists with five. Despite the Mammoth being eliminated in the first round, Sergachev finished seventh in the entire NHL in ice time per game with 27:25.

There was a lot to be happy about for the Mammoth’s season, making the playoffs for the first time. It was certainly something Sergachev was pleased to see, but he was even happier seeing his teammates around him improve to the point where the Mammoth were winning games.

“It’s actually amazing to see how guys go from a team that wasn’t winning to winning more, and then to making the playoffs, and winning in the playoffs, and seeing the guys compete and be strong on pucks, and then be really strong off the ice too,” Sergachev said. “I think a lot of our guys made the right steps in the right direction. It’s just good to see our young core getting in those situations and learning from them. It starts with our captain. He has been a great player on the ice, but off the ice, he’s been one of the best leaders.”

The Future

With that being said, Sergachev did have some concerns about the season. The biggest of which was his play in the playoffs alongside his defense partner, Weegar. 

While Sergachev enjoyed playing alongside Weegar, the duo weren’t good enough in the postseason. The defenseman believed both of them could’ve done more to help out the Mammoth and get further into the playoffs.

“Weegs is an easy guy to connect with,” Sergachev said. “He’s a very nice, outgoing guy. He’s easy to talk to. He’s Canadian, so it was an easy match. How did we do in the postseason? I don’t think we played well enough. We could have played a lot better to help this team.”

Both Sergachev and Weegar ended up tied for the team lead in points with five. However, defensively, especially in Game 6, there could’ve been better play. It would’ve been nice to see Sergachev score at least once during the series as well.

Regardless, it was another solid season for Sergachev. He finished with over 50 points, double-digit numbers in goals, and ate up a lot of minutes while putting up solid defensive numbers. This was despite playing with multiple players acting as the number-two defenseman alongside Sergachev.

Sergachev was once again a big leader on and off the ice as well. As an alternate captain, he was the main leader on the blueline and helped take some of the younger guys under his wing, like Simashev and Daniil But. Sergachev made sure the entire blueline was a collective tight unit through dinners and other outings, which helped make the defense corps a lot more consistent this season.

“We’re a tight group; that’s what matters to me the most, that we’re tight off the ice,” Sergachev said. “We have D dinners, D meetings all the time, and we feel like we separate ourselves from the forward group a little bit. It’s not a bad thing. I think it’s a good thing, because we are back there, defending.”

As for the future, it’s pretty clear for Sergachev. He’s entering the fourth season on his eight-year deal and his third as the number one defenseman on the Mammoth. He will be on a very competitive Mammoth team. He will likely be paired with Weegar. 

The goals will probably be the same for Sergachev this season as well. Help the Mammoth make the playoffs and make a deep run, put up double-digit numbers in goals, and reach the 60-point plateau while maintaining good, consistent defensive numbers. The other goal will be forming great chemistry with Weegar to become a reliable and strong tandem, perhaps one of the best defensive duos in the Central Division.

All of those goals are pretty achievable. After a season where he took another step forward as a number one player on the blueline, it’s quite clear we could see a situation where Sergachev eventually gets back to producing 60 points as he did during the 2022-23 season.

Final Grade

It was another strong season from Sergachev, where he led the blueline to a pretty solid season. While he didn’t score the 15 goals he did last season, he still put up good totals, including 59 points, just one shy of getting to the 60-point plateau for the second time in his career.

While his playoff performance wasn’t up to his liking, you can’t argue with the effect he had in the final three games of that series, especially the amount of ice time he accumulated in Games 4 and 5. That type of play is well expected from Sergachev at this point. The ability to play for long periods of time while being a threat both on the power play and at even strength.

As for his grade, Sergachev actually gave himself one at exit interviews. He mentioned it was a difficult season, but excuses aside, it wasn’t a bad one for him.

“It was a hard season,” Sergachev said. “I’ll start with that. We play every other day, travel a lot. That’s all excuses. I’ll give myself a B-minus.”

It’s a bit of a harsh grade considering last season’s grade was an A. Sergachev is a player who is harder on himself and more truthful than others. With that in mind, he’s going to get an A-minus. It was another good season from the defenseman, with solid numbers and solid play. With more time to build chemistry with Weegar, the 2026-27 season should be even better for Sergachev as he sets his sights on helping the Mammoth win more playoff games.