Sergachev’s Drive Earns Him Masterton Nod

Perseverance, sportsmanship, dedication. Those are the three defining characteristics of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an annual award that goes to the NHL player who best captures these qualities.

This season, Utah’s nominee easily hits all three. Alternate captain Mikhail Sergachev, in his ninth NHL season, has become a dominant player on the ice, and leader off of it. However, his journey took a turn on Feb. 7, 2024, when he suffered a severe leg injury. Sergachev missed 51 games during the 2023-24 season and 2024 playoffs. After surgery and dedicating himself to his recovery, Sergachev returned during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s playoff run. The injury taught the veteran defenseman about his support system and his strength.

“I think I’m stronger than I think I am,” Sergachev explained. “That I have a lot of friends and supporters and guys who deeply care about me. When you just play you don’t really realize that but when you’re at your lowest, you really get to see people, so it was nice.”

Months later, Sergachev started a new season with a new team determined to be a big part of its success, despite missing significant time the previous season. Sergachev has delivered. With two games remaining in the 2024-25 campaign, Sergachev has already set a career-high in goals (16) and the defenseman leads all blueliners on the team in goals, assists, points, power-play points, game-winning goals, and takeaways.

“I think I’m putting myself in the right spots to score,” Sergachev said in his evaluation of his offensive success. “Either joining the rush or just jumping in the hole like I did (on Apr. 8). I’m trying to focus on that. Maybe work for this summer will be working on my rush game and being able to skate there and not get tired.”

Another part of his game is as the quarterback of Utah’s top power play unit. Sergachev’s vision and strong passing have been key parts of that special teams unit’s success.

“I think he has the poise, he has the desire to dominate as well,” Utah head coach André Tourigny explained. “He has a great shot and great vision, and he can pass the puck really hard as well so the puck travels. He’s doing a good job.”

Sergachev’s impact on the ice is well documented with his statistics or scoresheets night in and night out. One of his most significant roles cannot be quantified by numbers. For the first time in his career, the defenseman has served as an alternate captain. Sergachev has focused on supporting his teammates every day.

“You never know when you’re going to impact a friend, just a stranger, so it’s just being there for your teammates,” Sergachev shared. “Every time they ask a question, be there 100%, be honest, and just being an honest player on the ice too, never cheat, block as many shots as possible - do it for the team. (Play) the right way and hopefully guys will follow.”