The Coyotes are expected to be buyers this summer, looking to add pieces that might be around for a few years. They’ve found one of those players as they have acquired defenseman Sean Durzi from the Kings. Los Angeles receives a 2024 second-round pick (Montreal’s) in return. Arizona GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the move:
Sean is a reliable two-way defenseman who has good vision and contributes offensively. He will be a very good addition to our blue line and we look forward to having him on our roster this season.
The 24-year-old had a strong sophomore season in 2022-23, picking up nine goals and 29 assists in 72 games for the Kings while logging just shy of 20 minutes a night. That was good enough to finish second on Los Angeles in scoring by a defenseman behind only Drew Doughty. His production, however, dipped in their opening-round loss to Edmonton as he scored just once while seeing his ATOI drop by nearly four minutes.
Durzi has one year left on his contract with a more than reasonable $1.7MM AAV. On top of that, he has two more seasons of team control after next year, meaning that he will be under Arizona’s control through the 2025-26 campaign. He will immediately become the Coyotes’ top-paid blueliner, a sign of how much change their back end has undergone recently. A right-shot defender, Durzi could be counted on to play on Arizona’s top pairing next season, depending on what else they accomplish in the coming weeks. That should give him a chance to have a bigger role offensively which could set him up quite nicely for a significant raise on his current contract. Getting a player in that role for a future second-rounder is certainly a nice piece of business for Armstrong, especially since they still have eight second-rounders over the next three drafts. Even after the move, Arizona has some work to do to get to the cap floor let alone coming anywhere close to next year’s projected Upper Limit of $83.5MM.
As for the Kings, GM Rob Blake is dealing from a strong spot as Los Angeles has some promising offensive blueliners in their system. Jordan Spence had a dominant year at AHL Ontario with 45 points in 56 games and could be ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL. Meanwhile, Brandt Clarke, who spent the first few months of this past season with the Kings, finished up strong with OHL Barrie and could push for a full-time role in 2023-24. Both players are on entry-level contracts at about half of Durzi’s cost, meaning the move not only lands them what projects to be a decent second-rounder a year from now but also frees up some cap flexibility. With the swap, they now have a little over $9MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, with at least four roster spots to fill including a starting goaltender.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report (Twitter links) both that Durzi was going to Arizona and the draft pick return.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good use of draft capital by Arizona. It’s highly unlikely they would have drafted somebody who pans out to the caliber of Durzi.
Durzi’s summer was just ruined. :/
Now come on, Bear. Houston’s a great city. He’ll probably love it there.
More likely Salt Lake City it would appear. Nice Skiing resorts though. :D
I’m hoping for Houston. I live outside Dallas, and the geographic rivalry between the Texas cities is historic and intense. SLC just wouldn’t add the spice that Houston would, plus Houston is the 5th largest metro area in the US, has a wealthy, diverse and expanding population, an arena for hockey, a history of hockey, and plenty of corporate sponsorship.
I agree with Gbear– I believe it’s going to be SLC.
I’d be for Houston getting the Coyotes, but the scuttlebutt is that the Utah Jazz owner has the inside track to get them. Growing city with winter weather.
SLC instant rivalry with the Avs.
He’s going to look great in Utah
Great trade for everyone but Durzi
@Ajc
Why do you say that? He might love Houston.
Great point. He is also still young enough to take some classes at ASU
Regardless of where the yotes find themselves playing, they’re starting to have a promising looking group. I rarely predict anything correctly but it seems with a good bit of cap space they can snag a few more good picks to take some bad contracts and maybe even grab some cap casualties with good skills to make the next season fun to watch.
Real teams slept on this player … Durzi can forget inviting more than 1 guest to Mullett, or try and get excited about Salt Lake…
If Arizona keeps making trades this smart, they will absolutely be competing for a playoff spot in a few seasons. This is exactly how to rebuild – sell high, buy low. Great trade, and allows LA to get developing defencemen into the NHL system sooner.
Good trade by Blake!
Great move by kings hopefully Spence gets full time job…Durzi could surprise alot of people
Great trade for Arizona. Durzi is a good young affordable dman who can play both ends and in Arizona he will only get more time to play. Only giving up a 2nd rd pick to get him seems like a cheap price.
Beyond everything else, I bet Durzi is this season’s Ghost Bear: someone who puts up good numbers in the desert, and gets flipped at the deadline to a cash-crunched team that needs defense.
He’s going to look great in Utah