Sergachev played all 25 playoff games on Tampa Bay's run to the Stanley Cup and tallied three goals and 10 points, third most among Bolts defensemen. His ice time increased from the regular season up to 22:37 in the playoffs, third highest among all Lightning skaters. He also saw action on Tampa Bay's top power-play unit, spelling Conn Smythe Trophy winner Victor Hedman at times, and was a valuable penalty killer, underscoring his versatility.
BriseBois said he expects Sergachev to play a similar role this upcoming season as he did for the Lightning down the stretch of this past season and into the postseason, which means he'll probably stay on the left side but could also see time on the right. Sergachev is a left shot but has shown the ability to play both sides well, and with the logjam of left-shot D in front of him in Hedman and Ryan McDonagh, a move to the right might allow him to move into a top four role.
"He played over 20 minutes a night," BriseBois said of Sergachev's postseason. "He played on the power play. He played on the penalty kill. Sometimes he was on the first power play, sometimes he was on the second. Sometimes we used him on the right side, sometimes we used him on the left side. We mostly used him on the left side, but we know he can do both. We prefer to have our left-shot Ds on the left side and our right-shot Ds on the right side."
Sergachev took his game to another level in December when he tapped into his physicality and learned how to use his body to his benefit. His progression was punctuated by his play in the final game of 2019, a New Year's Eve tilt in Buffalo where he had a power-play assist and got into a spirited fight with the Sabres Jake McCabe in a 6-4 Lightning victory.
"I think his play in the second half of December when he brought a little more physicality on a night-in, night-out basis gave him a lot of additional confidence that he could play that way, that he needed to be more assertive physically and that when he is assertive physically, his whole game elevates," BriseBois said. "And I think that's what we saw in the second half of the season."