Mikhail Sergachev Signs Three-Year, $14.4 million Extension With Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning have finally re-signed one of their top three major RFAs.

On Wednesday, the Lightning announced that they have signed young defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to a three-year contract worth $14.4 million (a $4.8 million average annual value).

Sergachev was instrumental in helping the Lightning win the 2020 Stanley Cup following years of playoff heartbreak. The 22-year-old had 10 goals (a career best) and 34 points in 70 regular season games.

Sergachev elevated his play in the postseason, recording three goals and seven assists in 25 games. His offensive skills and strong defensive game helped Tampa Bay form a stingy defence in front of world-class goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

For his career, Sergachev has 25 goals and 106 points in 228 NHL games while averaging 17:41 minutes of ice time.

The Lightning acquired Sergachev - the ninth overall pick in the 2016 Entry Draft - from the Montreal Canadiens in 2017 as part of the blockbuster Jonathan Drouin trade.

With Sergachev re-signed, general manager Julien BriseBois can now turn his focus over to the other two RFAs: Defenceman Erik Cernak and standout two-way forward Anthony Cirelli.

The Lightning are up against the cap, and in order to re-sign both Cernak and Cirelli, BriseBois will likely have to move out an expensive player or two.

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Forwards Tyler Johnson (a $5 million cap hit for four more years), Ondrej Palat ($5.3 million for two more years) and Yanni Gourde ($5.166 million cap hit for two more years) look like possible trade candidates.

But the good news is that the Lightning have the majority of their core players signed: Sergachev, Vasilevskiy, captain Steven Stamkos, elite defenceman Victor Hedman, 2019 Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov and rising superstar Brayden Point.

Having too many key contributors is a good problem to have, and it'll be interesting to see how BriseBois works his way out of a tough cap situation. The Sergachev deal is done with, and now comes the hard part in extending both Cernak and Cirelli.

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