Mikhail Sergachev says he's still annoyed with series loss to Maple Leafs

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Cooper Godin
September 14, 2023 (8:47 PM)

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It's been nearly five months since the Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who advanced to the second round for the first time since 2004.

Even though plenty of time has passed, Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Mikhail Sergachev is still not happy that they lost to the Maple Leafs and believes that his team should have won the Stanley Cup.

"In my head, we should've won the Cup," Sergachev said. "Every year, we should win the Cup."

He went on to add, "We don't want to be the team that Toronto finally (beats to get) to the second round."

It's understandable to see where Sergachev is coming from and why the Lightning felt they should have won the Stanley Cup. After three years in a row where they dominated the Eastern Conference, to lose in the first round is tough and not an easy pill to swallow.

The Lightning will head into the 2023-24 season with a lot of expectation on them to regain that dominate form that saw them reach the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive seasons. The team went through some changes this summer, mainly due to cap reasons. They traded Ross Colton to Colorado, Pat Maroon to Minnesota and lost players like Corey Perry (Chicago), Alex Killorn (Anaheim) and Ian Cole (Vancouver) in free agency.

General Manager Julien BriseBois also picked up a few players that he hopes will address the depth they lost this summer. Conor Sheary was inked to a three-year contract back on July 1st, while Tyler Motte put pen to paper on a one-year deal last Saturday.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Tampa Bay Lightning do this season and if they're able to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Do you think the Lightning will win the Atlantic Division? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below!