Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is a key component of hockey’s modern dynasty and he’s frothing at the mouth for another chance to lift the Stanley Cup.
Sergachev is only 25 but he’s won two Stanley Cups and made three Final appearances while blossoming into one of the NHL’s premier blueliners. He’s capable of logging top-pair minutes with offensive flair and crushing physicality.
An extended summer break hasn’t sat well with him and the Russian is still fuming about Tampa Bay’s first-round exit at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last spring.
“In my head, we should’ve won the Cup. Every year we should win the Cup. Yeah, obviously we’re pissed off. We don’t want to lose,” Sergachev said to 32 Thoughts: The Podcast Wednesday at the Player Media Tour in Henderson, Nevada.
“We don’t want to be the team that finally got Toronto to the second round, and they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. They didn’t go through the second round. But we didn’t want to be that and lose to them.”
Toronto advanced past the opening stage of the postseason for the first time in the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era but the enthusiasm was short-lived. The upstart Florida Panthers, who clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, upended the Maple Leafs in five games en route to the Final.
Prior to the 2023 playoffs, the Lightning owned the Maple Leafs in recent matchups and presented a psychological hurdle to Toronto’s star-studded, underperforming roster. Tampa Bay defeated Toronto in seven games during the 2022 playoffs and was considered the model to follow, boasting an array of superstars and depth pieces that were similarly aged to Toronto’s core.
During the 2023 playoffs, Toronto required three overtime victories to eliminate Tampa Bay, culminating in John Tavares’ overtime series winner in Game 6 that sent shockwaves across Southern Ontario.
For a seemingly exhausted Lightning team, it marked the end of three consecutive Final appearances. It was the first time they had lost to an Eastern Conference team in the playoffs since a shocking upset at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019.
“We’ll see when camp starts how pissed off we are,” Sergachev sad. “The guys are very competitive even now.
“Usually before camp we skate. We’ll do five drills and play a game. Usually it’s like beer-league hockey. Now, it’s intense. Some hitting, too. It’s great. Competitive. No one is going to let me walk them on the blue line. It’s not acceptable anymore.”
