Mikhail Sergachev has played in all situations for Utah Hockey Club this season.
Recently, though, the defenseman earned a new role: egg dealer.
Sergachev has a chicken coop set up in his backyard in Salt Lake City, and as the price of eggs rises in the United States, he has been providing his teammates with fresh products free of cost.
“I just have a lot of eggs. Once we hit like 24 or 30 eggs, I start giving them away to my teammates,” Sergachev said. “Obviously I feed them well. I take care of them. Now there’s a shortage of eggs so guys appreciate it more.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) looks to pass down the ice during the second period of the game between the Utah Hockey Club and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
The egg-shortage crisis is impacting all American citizens and has officially crossed NHL lines. According to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, the national average cost for a dozen eggs has increased by 63% over the last year. There are a few reasons for that.
First, the avian flu epidemic has shortened supply. The outbreak has infected around 110 million birds, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, since Jan. 2022. That includes egg-laying hens. Utah in particular — along with Washington and Oregon — have been egg-producing states that have reported significant losses.
Accordingly, Nick Bjugstad had some reservations before accepting eggs from Sergachev.
“Everybody appreciates it. Except Bjugy. Bjugy was like, ‘Make sure your chickens are not sick or don’t have bird flu,’” Sergachev said. “It’s insane. He disrespected my chickens like that. I still gave him eggs because he said his wife went to the store and there were no eggs. I gave him eggs and he appreciated it. But he disrespected my chickens.”
Utah Hockey Club center Nick Bjugstad (17) smiles on the ice during warmups prior to an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)
Bjugstad who, after issuing what he called a formal apology, received his eggs a week later. The forward had a different view of the initial dispute, too.
“I did not say anything about the bird flu — I asked if it was hard keeping the eggs clean and if you ever have issues with getting sick from it or anything,” Bjugstad said. “He took very big offense to that. I did have to give him a formal apology. He was supposed to bring me eggs the next day and he didn’t bring me eggs. I had to apologize and he ended up bringing them. They were very good.”
Rising costs in production for farmers have also caused the empty egg shelves at the grocery store as of late. Feeding chickens has become more expensive, as have labor and fuel. It is part of the reason Ian Cole was eager to take Sergachev up on the egg offer.
“Have you seen the price of eggs?” Cole said. “[Sergachev] was telling me he got them. And he was trying to give me some of his chickens. I was like, ‘Well that would be great but I have no place to put them. But if you’re giving away eggs, I will gladly take some eggs.’”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club defenseman Ian Cole (28) as Utah Hockey Club hosts the Minnesota Wild, NHL hockey in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
Cole does not currently have a coop set up but said he would be open to letting the chickens roam around the backyard at some point in the future.
“Give them table scraps and let them go,” Cole said. “[Sergachev] says it’s not that hard.”
The veteran defenseman had no reservations about the cleanliness of Sergachev’s chickens or eggs. And, after getting a carton withheld from him, Bjugstad is not mentioning it either.
Are Sergachev’s eggs better than the ones (sparsely) bought at the grocery store?
“They’re a little smaller but if I said no he for sure wouldn’t give me any more eggs,” Bjugstad said. “So I’ll say yes.”
