NHL first rounder slams his former team!

It is well-known: a good hockey trade in the NHL can do a player a lot of good. It is the case for young rookie Mikhail Sergachev, who was shipped to the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Montreal Canadiens in the blockbuster deal of Jonathan Drouin this summer. 

The 19-year-old is now benefiting from a real audition with a professional hockey club, as he gets to prove what he is made of in the preseason, in hopes to crack the main roster for the opener. 

Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is almost convinced as he noted that Sergachev "has the size, strength, skating ability and skill to play in the NHL today". But more audition time is needed to see if he is NHL-ready, especially since the young defenseman played only four games for the Canadiens last season.

Sergachev has better hopes of showing his skills this preseason than he did with the Habs to convince him he deserved a spot in the lineup. The rookie took a shot at his former team in that regard in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. 

"It's way different (from last year)," he said. "There, I played, like, 10 minutes and couldn't do anything. I'd have 5-on-5, 20-second shifts. Here, I had time to show what I can do and what I'm capable of doing."

Sergachev played between 8:30 and 12 minutes in three of his four games with Montreal. Clearly, the youngster is not happy about it and will want to show the Habs that he had more in the tank for them. 

But now, Tampa gets to use it!