Player Discussion: Mikhail Sergachev

[These Are The Days]

Orlov looks like an absolute machine with huge explosive power ... Sergachev looks like your average Joe trying to keep up.

With McAvoy's extension in place I'm very optimistic about Sergachev's return for cheap. This guy is no McAvoy and won't be paid like it either

 

[Todd1a]

With McAvoy's extension in place I'm very optimistic about Sergachev's return for cheap. This guy is no McAvoy and won't be paid like it either

Ya I’m hoping 3.5 avv for 3 years

 

[These Are The Days]

Ya I’m hoping 3.5 avv for 3 years

Normally I'd say you're pretty good at predicting contracts but I'm inclined to believe that total is gonna be lower. I think Sergachev and Joseph will both take bridges at about $2.5 million tops. I agree with DFC's assessment about Sergachev. If he wants to be paid more then he's out. I think we need to be patient with him despite not making the amount of progress I think some of us were hoping for (myself included) but I'm willing to wait it out and I'm not gonna rip out my hair if his 3rd season is a redux of the 2nd. Not only does that mean a cheap bridge but it's pertinent to keep in mind that Sergachev may not hit his stride til his 4th year anyway and so long as his positives stay afloat then we can afford to work out any negatives.

When people say "he's early 20's why are you giving up?" The appropriate player in that example is a Sergachev versus someone like Jesse Puljujarvi

I'm very optimistic about Sergachev. I don't think he'll be a #2 but I won't whine about #4 either. He's on track for it

 

[Todd1a]

Normally I'd say you're pretty good at predicting contracts but I'm inclined to believe that total is gonna be lower. I think Sergachev and Joseph will both take bridges at about $2.5 million tops. I agree with DFC's assessment about Sergachev. If he wants to be paid more then he's out. I think we need to be patient with him despite not making the amount of progress I think some of us were hoping for (myself included) but I'm willing to wait it out and I'm not gonna rip out my hair if his 3rd season is a redux of the 2nd. Not only does that mean a cheap bridge but it's pertinent to keep in mind that Sergachev may not hit his stride til his 4th year anyway and so long as his positives stay afloat then we can afford to work out any negatives.

When people say "he's early 20's why are you giving up?" The appropriate player in that example is a Sergachev versus someone like Jesse Puljujarvi

I'm very optimistic about Sergachev. I don't think he'll be a #2 but I won't whine about #4 either. He's on track for it

If he plays with hedman all you which he should unless cooper ties rutta to hedman? But if hedman and sergachev play together I could see sergachev getting 40 to 45 points . If not then ya he probably get a lower salary next year.

 

[Stormbreaker]

 

[These Are The Days]

If he plays with hedman all you which he should unless cooper ties rutta to hedman? But if hedman and sergachev play together I could see sergachev getting 40 to 45 points . If not then ya he probably get a lower salary next year.

40-45 points playing next to Hedman is wonderful.... until you lose the puck on that shake-and-bake move for the 3rd time in a week or when you're peeling off too far and giving the attacker an extra 3 feet of ice he doesn't need or when you lazily carry the puck up ice and risk all the bad that comes with it. Sergachev needs to work out the bad habits in his game before he thinks about getting paid the big bucks. If he's gonna be THAT MUCH of a jerk about his contract we have Cal Foote ready to play #6 next year.

I'd move Sergachev before any forward like Gourde, Johnson or Killorn. Not only is our haul liable to be better, but it will be an easier move to make.

 

[DFC]

Depends on PP2. If we go with two defensemen, 40 points is a possibility again. If it's Shattenkirk + forwards, Serg will be in the 30s again.

These RFA D deals have me a lot more optimistic about next year though. McAvoy at 4.9 puts our big two kids in check pretty nicely.

 

[Byrddog]

I really like Sergachev and I think he is going to be a top 4 guy but with all the additions that have been made it looks as if they may shop him. It does him no good to play in the 3rd pair. And with Foote coming up next year Sergi is expendable. I do not like it but the addition of Shattenkirk, Schenn and Witkoski he would be in the rotation to sit in the pressbox according to matchup. Sergi, Cernak, Rutta, Schenn some have to go somewhere. If I had my choice I would waive Shattenkirk(I hate this guy) and Schenn(who I think is redundant to what we have). I am neither hot or cold about Rutta he is serviceable in the 5 thru 7 role. Then again Coburn and Girardi are in the mix too. We are going to be disappointed when Coop makes the cuts and culls some we like. When you look at last year we had one of the best defenses in the league and some of those guys will be gone.

 

[Werewolf]

We do need Sergachev. Yeah he plays the right side now...but he plays his best on the left side. His best NHL time was on the left with Stralman on the right. I’d like Segachev on that left third pairing slot, dunno why we signed Coburn for two years, that should have been one year deal and Sergachev takes that spot next year.

McDonagh - Cernak
Hedman - Foote
Sergachev - Babysitting Defensive Defenseman

But maybe we are looking at:

McDonagh - Cernak
Hedman - Sergachev
Coburn - Foote

Don’t expect any of Rutta, Schenn, nor Shatty to be around next year. No other defenseman in the pipeline ... maybe Masin but that’s about it.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Hedman-Sergachev
McDonagh-Cernak
Coburn-Shattenkirk

Why not yeah.

 

[Sky04]

I really like Sergachev and I think he is going to be a top 4 guy but with all the additions that have been made it looks as if they may shop him. It does him no good to play in the 3rd pair. And with Foote coming up next year Sergi is expendable. I do not like it but the addition of Shattenkirk, Schenn and Witkoski he would be in the rotation to sit in the pressbox according to matchup. Sergi, Cernak, Rutta, Schenn some have to go somewhere. If I had my choice I would waive Shattenkirk(I hate this guy) and Schenn(who I think is redundant to what we have). I am neither hot or cold about Rutta he is serviceable in the 5 thru 7 role. Then again Coburn and Girardi are in the mix too. We are going to be disappointed when Coop makes the cuts and culls some we like. When you look at last year we had one of the best defenses in the league and some of those guys will be gone.

Why would you say that? Every time he has been put in the top-4 he's been over his head, he took a step back last year, is incredibly soft in his own zone and still learning the NHL game. This isn't a guy who's excelling on the bottom pair and stuck behind a log-jam, not yet - he can still learn a lot playing on the 3rd pairing until he's more reliable.

 

[CupsOverCash]

I think I speak for everybody that they would rather have Sergachev with Hedman than Rutta in that spot.

 

[DFC]

I think I speak for everybody that they would rather have Sergachev with Hedman than Rutta in that spot.

Rutta's no longer among our regulars. It's no longer an issue, thankfully.

 

[Sky04]

I think I speak for everybody that they would rather have Sergachev with Hedman than Rutta in that spot.

Sure but both are probably liabilities to Hedman. Cernak is probably the best fit for him with our current lineup.

 

[CupsOverCash]

Sure but both are probably liabilities to Hedman. Cernak is probably the best fit for him with our current lineup.

I agree but its tough to break up Cernak and McD with how good they were last year. I am curious to see what a Hedman/Cernak & McD/Serg would be like for us.

 

[DFC]

Yeah. It felt good to have a pair you could trust, regardless of the opposing line. I'd like to see us keep that together and restart the search for Hedman's long-term partner. Maybe Foote next year if he can step in with Cernak's poise.

 

[Sky04]

Yeah. It felt good to have a pair you could trust, regardless of the opposing line. I'd like to see us keep that together and restart the search for Hedman's long-term partner. Maybe Foote next year if he can step in with Cernak's poise.

The way I see it is that you limit Hedman much more than McDonagh by having him without a compatible partner. Hedman is limited when he has to babysit, he can't take the puck up as much as he should and he gets spread thin defensively. McDonagh on the otherhand is practically made for the role which is why we placed Cernak with him to start.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

I'm all in favor of Hedman-Cernak and McDonagh-Sergachev.

I think those pairs are perfectly balanced.

 

[The Macho King]

I'm all in favor of Hedman-Cernak and McDonagh-Sergachev.

I think those pairs are perfectly balanced.

It's so obvious that it will never happen.

Hedman must babysit. It is known.

 

[AndreRoy]

Let’s pump the brakes on Foote making Serg redundant. Not only do they have very different skill sets, and therefore would not be redundant even if Foote does pan out, but Serg barring a major setback should solidify himself as a top four defenseman at some point this season (he arguably was toward the end of last season) and I don’t think anyone here would be willing to put money on Foote immediately stepping into such a role. It’s also not impossible that we might expose McDonagh in the expansion draft in a couple of years, and if so Sergachev would become his replacement with Foote hopefully ready to slide into our top four by then.

If we shop Serg it’s more likely to be because we don’t have the cap space to keep everybody and we’ve decided that Cernak and Cirelli are higher priorities. But if we can afford to keep him we absolutely should.

 

[DFC]

The way I see it is that you limit Hedman much more than McDonagh by having him without a compatible partner. Hedman is limited when he has to babysit, he can't take the puck up as much as he should and he gets spread thin defensively. McDonagh on the otherhand is practically made for the role which is why we placed Cernak with him to start.

Agreed, but the pairing turned out to be so good that it's hard to turn away from, IMO. I'm not against exploring other options, but I can't fault Cooper for going with the best shutdown combination he's found since Hedman-Stralman in Stralman's prime.

That said, you do have to wonder if Hedman would go off like he did with Dotchin if paired with a guy he could trust. Weird to say, but we saw it happen.

 

[Sky04]

Agreed, but the pairing turned out to be so good that it's hard to turn away from, IMO. I'm not against exploring other options, but I can't fault Cooper for going with the best shutdown combination he's found since Hedman-Stralman in Stralman's prime.

That said, you do have to wonder if Hedman would go off like he did with Dotchin if paired with a guy he could trust. Weird to say, but we saw it happen.

Do we need to have a primary shut down pairing though? I think we should be balancing Hedman and McDonagh's pairs so we can get more out of McD later in the season. McDonagh had a huge workload last year and looked burnt out before playoffs, he started off ridiculously good and slowed down towards the end of the season and playoffs. Hedman aside from fluke injuries seems to have no problems playing at a consistent level through an entire season. Hedman's younger and just seems to pace himself a lot better. Just seems we have the most balance lineup with a defensive anchor and a great transitional blueliner on every pairing if the pairs were:

Hedman-Cernak
McDonagh-Sergachev
Coburn-Shattenkirk

Probably the best blueline we've ever assembled.

 

[Byrddog]

Why would you say that? Every time he has been put in the top-4 he's been over his head, he took a step back last year, is incredibly soft in his own zone and still learning the NHL game. This isn't a guy who's excelling on the bottom pair and stuck behind a log-jam, not yet - he can still learn a lot playing on the 3rd pairing until he's more reliable.

He has been over his head because he is young. He will not progress to his potential playing down. The smart thing would have been to leave him in the AHL when he first came up. Playing 1st pair there would have been better for his development than sink or swim on the big team. Young guys with his potential need the challenge. I will give you a good example. Look at Seth Jones while in Nashville he played 3rd pair because he could not beat out those in front of him. He went to Columbus and somewhat struggled for a year as the top pair guy. Then last year came into his own. Jones is considered in the top ten of defensemen in the league according to NHL Live and there top 20 show where he slotted 4th. Now if he had stayed in Nashville would he have realized that so soon????? No the Same for Sergi if he does not play the tough lines night in and night out he will not maximize his potential timely like many here want.

He is a top 4 type player and he did not hurt this team last year. The PK and team defense was among the best in the league. holding him back now is not a good move I would rather he be traded if that is the direction Mgmt is going. And that appears to be the case signing Shattenkirk and the rest.

 

[Sky04]

He has been over his head because he is young. He will not progress to his potential playing down. The smart thing would have been to leave him in the AHL when he first came up. Playing 1st pair there would have been better for his development than sink or swim on the big team. Young guys with his potential need the challenge. I will give you a good example. Look at Seth Jones while in Nashville he played 3rd pair because he could not beat out those in front of him. He went to Columbus and somewhat struggled for a year as the top pair guy. Then last year came into his own. Jones is considered in the top ten of defensemen in the league according to NHL Live and there top 20 show where he slotted 4th. Now if he had stayed in Nashville would he have realized that so soon????? No the Same for Sergi if he does not play the tough lines night in and night out he will not maximize his potential timely like many here want.

He is a top 4 type player and he did not hurt this team last year. The PK and team defense was among the best in the league. holding him back now is not a good move I would rather he be traded if that is the direction Mgmt is going. And that appears to be the case signing Shattenkirk and the rest.

His defensive game is awful, nothing is holding him back except the fact that he can't handle a top-4 workload. As for Jones, he would've reached his potential in either Nashville or Columbus because Nashville would've eventually moved on from their more expensive defenseman in favor of Jones anyways. Let me give you another example, Justin Schultz was another offensive defenseman with a soft defensive game like Sergachev, he was given top-4 minutes on routine and was absolutely annihilated night and night out.

He has been given a good look at top-4 minutes in both seasons so far and couldn't handle it either times, he is absolutely not a top-4 defenseman. Playing 2nd/3rd pairing minutes regularly in the lineup is not holding a developing defenseman back.

 

[LightningStrikes]

His defensive game is awful, nothing is holding him back except the fact that he can't handle a top-4 workload. As for Jones, he would've reached his potential in either Nashville or Columbus because Nashville would've eventually moved on from their more expensive defenseman in favor of Jones anyways. Let me give you another example, Justin Schultz was another offensive defenseman with a soft defensive game like Sergachev, he was given top-4 minutes on routine and was absolutely annihilated night and night out.

He has been given a good look at top-4 minutes in both seasons so far and couldn't handle it either times. Playing 2nd/3rd pairing minutes regularly in the lineup is not holding a developing defenseman back.

Yeah, he's not a top-4 defender at this point. Offense is all well but his defensive play is not there yet. The good news is he's only 21 years old with already two full seasons under his belt. We just have to be patient with him.