When Mikhail Sergachev was welcomed back by the Tampa crowd, where he won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning, it gave the city a long-awaited chance to show its appreciation for him. In fact, since being dealt to Utah in an offseason trade, Sergachev had yet to play in Tampa, going 71 games before finally returning back to the city where he spent seven seasons playing. Only recently had he even gotten to face his former teammates in a 6-4 Utah win last week .
Sergachev’s homecoming was highly anticipated by everyone, highlighted by a pre-game tribute from Tampa in his honor. "People here are very nice," said Sergachev. "I spent a lot of time here and I enjoy[ed] my time.
.. we had some good times and people remember that.
I appreciate that." While it took a while, Sergachev finally got to hear the cheers of a deeply appreciative crowd, thanking him for all he had done for the team. But while the game started with good feelings, things were going to get rough fast for Utah.
In fact, Utah was about to blown out in historic fashion. Despite the heartwarming welcome, which included tribute videos and a Sergachev faceoff to start the game, the good feelings didn’t last long. Utah went on to suffer an 8-0 loss, its worst in franchise history and its first shutout defeat since a 1-0 loss to Boston on Nov.
21. Being down 7-0 had already secured Utah’s worst loss of the season, surpassing its previous 7-1 road defeat to Edmonton . However, a late goal from Tampa’s Oli.
