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Mikhail Sergachev “still puts money on the board” when he faces the Habs

 Jennifer Davis
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Mikhail Sergachev “still puts money on the board” when he faces the Habs
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot
Even though he was only in town for a very short time, Mikhail Sergachev is still a household name in Montreal. The defenseman, who was traded to the Lightning in exchange for Jonathan Drouin, is one of those fans would have liked to keep in town.

I have the impression that the transaction makes him a little overrated in Montreal, but he’s still a quality defenseman.

Sergachev was traded to the Lightning a year after being selected ninth overall by the Habs. That said, he did wear a Habs uniform for four regular-season games.

So, his time with the Habs wasn’t particularly memorable… but he did exist. And in an interview with Sergey Demidov for Responsible Gambling, Sergachev spoke briefly about it, noting that to this day, he “puts money on the board” when he faces the Habs.

He says that in Tampa Bay, it was the veterans who pushed him to do so.

For those less familiar with the concept, “putting money on the board” is a tradition in the hockey world whereby a player puts money on the line when he plays his former team. If he helps his current team beat his old team, the money goes to pay for stuff for the group, whether it’s a dinner out or something like that.

Sergachev, who has been paid $8.5 million a year since the start of last season, probably has the financial means to afford it. The question now is whether he’ll continue to do so with his new team, Utah HC.

Obviously, he’ll do it against the Lightning… but will he finally give up playing against the Habs, with whom he’s barely played?

Speaking of the trade, Sergachev admitted he suspected he was at risk of being traded this summer. He was aware of the Lightning’s salary situation, and he knew that Steven Stamkos had to sign a new pact.

What surprised him, however, was that the money the Lightning saved by trading him was not used to keep Stamkos, but to pay Jake Guentzel. Guentzel signed a seven-year pact for $9 million a year, similar to what Sergachev is getting.

So it’s in Utah (and far from his mentor, Victor Hedman) that Sergachev will continue his career… and possibly continue to “put money on the board” when he faces the team that drafted him in 2016.


Overtime

– Wayne Gretzky wasn’t exactly bad in the 1985 series.

– Will the Sabres finally be back in the playoffs?

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