We had a pretty significant trade right out of the gate during the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft, so let’s get right into it.
Mikhail Sergachev to Utah
The Tampa Bay Lighting raised some eyebrows, trading defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club. The return: JJ Moser, Conor Geekie, pick No. 199 this year and a second-round pick next year. Utah is taking on all of Sergachev’s $8.5M cap hit — until the 2030-31 season!
Tampa is looking to make cap space to bring back captain Steven Stamkos, and they can extend Viktor Hedman beginning Monday. Getting out from under the duration of this deal gives Tampa some desperately needed cap flexibility and helps them restock their forward depth as well.
John Marino to Utah
Moments later, Utah added another defenseman. They sent pick No. 49 this year and Edmonton’s second-round pick next year to the New Jersey Devils for John Marino. That’s two significant additions to the blue line for the NHL’s new club. Wow.
It’s worth noting the Utah club had zero (0) defensemen under contract on their NHL roster for the coming season. They just added two to start the list.
Tanner Jeannot to Los Angeles
The Kings made a move to get a forward, and Tampa dumped more salary. LA gave up their second-round pick in 2025 and pick No. 118 this year.
Kevin Hayes to Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Penguins are acquiring a big center to help them in the immediate, landing former Blackhawks first-round pick Kevin Hayes from the St. Louis Blues. Hayes went with Blues’ second-round pick in 2025 for… future considerations.
Logan Thompson to Washington
The Washington Capitals traded a goalie to LA in the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal, so they picked up some depth in a deal with Vegas.