Sean Durzi to return from injury, Utah’s defense finally at full strength

Sean Durzi returns to duty tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, his old team, 131 days after suffering a shoulder injury against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 14. The defenseman’s re-enlistment provides crucial skill and versatility to Utah’s back end and comes just in time for the team’s 26-game sprint toward a potential playoff berth.

“It’s something to be proud of,” said Durzi on his multi-month recovery. “Obviously a lot of work went into this. Your initial thoughts when you get hurt ¦ it feels like a tunnel that never ends. To finally be at the light at the end of the tunnel with all that work, I couldn’t be happier.”

Prior to injury, Durzi tabbed two assists in four games, recorded Utah’s first fighting major, skated on the team’s top defense pair, and orchestrated the second power-play unit. While others have stepped up to fill the void, his absence over the last 52 games left Utah without one of its most multitalented weapons.

“I think it’s a great boost. I think the player but the person as well,” said head coach André Tourigny of Durzi’s return. “The energy, the leadership he brings, the commitment he has. It’s good to have him back and obviously, he’s a good player.”

With Durzi’s return, Utah’s blue line will finally be operating at maximum capacity for the first time this season.

On June 29, during the second day of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Utah Hockey Club General Manager Bill Armstrong drew everyone’s focus with two major acquisitions: defensemen Mikahil Sergachev and John Marino. The next day, Durzi, then a restricted free agent, inked a four year, $24 million extension with Armstrong and the Mountain Blue.

Feb. 22 against Los Angeles will be the first time that Sergachev, Marino, and Durzi play in the same game for Utah after Marino missed the first 42 games due to injury, overlapping with Durzi’s absence.

Add in Ian Cole, who signed a one-year, $3.1 million deal with Utah on July 1, Olli Määttä, who was acquired via trade from the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 29, and Nick DeSimone, who was claimed off waivers on Jan. 5, and Utah’s blue line all of a sudden looks significantly different than what originally came over from the Arizona Coyotes, and significantly better.

“I know the confidence we have as a D core, I know the work these guys have put in all year to grow as a D core, and then I know the belief we have in what we want to become,” said Durzi. “I think that’s pretty special, not being content with, ‘Wow, look at all the players we have,’ but it's how much better we want to be. We believe we can be one of the best in the league.”

Only three defensemen remain on Utah’s roster from last season’s Coyotes team: Durzi, Kesselring, and Juuso Välimäki. The back end has undergone a serious overhaul, but Utah fans have yet to see it anywhere close to full capacity. With Durzi back in the fold, Armstrong’s collection of talent in the defense corps can show its true ability for the first time.

“He’s a very easy defenseman to play with,” said Sergachev, Durzi’s partner at the start of the season. “I think that says a lot. Anybody can slide in and play with him.”

In the three-and-a-half games that Durzi played alongside Sergachev at the start of the season, the pair earned an expected goals share of 58.6% (percentage of goals expected to be scored at 5-on-5) according to the analytics site Moneypuck. If the two could have extended those numbers over the rest of the season to date, they would rank as one of the best defense pairs in the league, clocking in with the 15th best expected goals rate.

“He’s a high, high-end player,” said Michael Kesselring. “I think he’s really underrated in our league. He moves the puck really well, has offensive flair, sees the ice with the puck very well. That’s kind of what he’s known for, but he’s an underrated defender, and he plays hard defensively. I think that’s a thing that’s a little bit misunderstood about him.”

With Durzi injured, Kesselring stepped up to run Utah’s second power-play unit. It’s a role Kesselring has taken strides in, but Durzi is better suited for it. Durzi ran the Kings’ second power-play unit for two seasons behind Drew Doughty’s first unit. In 2022-23 with Durzi pulling the strings on LA’s second group, the Kings sported the fourth best power play in the league at 25.3%, and the crafty right shot defenseman had 16 points (1G, 15A) on the man-advantage.

Last season with Arizona, Durzi quarterbacked the top power-play unit and earned 16 points with the specialty unit (3G, 13A) while the Coyotes’ power play clocked in at a respectable 22.0%, good for 15th in the NHL.

His return to Utah’s second power-play unit should bring much needed experience and aid to a group that hasn’t produced much in comparison to the top five. Of Utah’s 35 power-play goals so far this season, only four have come from the second group.

For Durzi, tonight is a homecoming in Southern California where from 2021 to 2023, he studied diligently under the two-time Stanley Cup Champion Doughty, who also missed significant time this season after fracturing his ankle in the preseason. Feb. 22, the night of Durzi’s scheduled return, will be just the seventh game back in the lineup this season for Doughty, his old mentor.

“I think his mentality as a hockey player is something that I try to bring every day,” said Durzi. “Never being afraid of the moment. Stepping up in those big games. Not feeling the pressure in big situations. I think he’s done a great job in his career of growing from that, and that’s something I try to bring too.”

Durzi and the Utah Hockey Club will have plenty of big games and big situations looming ahead over the last 26 games of the regular season. Six points out of a playoff spot, the Mountain Blue has work to do, starting off against the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks in the first two games back from the 4 Nations Face-Off break. With Durzi back, Utah will be closer to playing at the top of its abilities.