This past Saturday in the Utah Hockey Club‘s (25-24-9) 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, defenseman Sean Durzi returned after a 52-game absence. On Oct. 16, The 26-year-old suffered a right shoulder injury against the New Jersey Devils. Now, with 24 games remaining in its inaugural NHL season, Utah sits four points out of a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Related: Utah HC: Dylan Guenther’s Return Sparks Success Ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off
“It’s huge. It’s how a healthy quarterback can help a team. It’s where you kill the play and start the play. It’s a key position,” Tourigny said of Durzi’s return to quarterbacking the power play.
Furthermore, with defenseman John Marino back to full speed, Utah has its healthiest and best defensive core this season. Here’s a look at the team’s latest defensive pairings:
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— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) February 24, 2025
Let’s take a look at what Durzi brings to Utah’s playoff push.
Right-Handed Offensive Presence on the Backend
While Mikhail Sergachev quarterbacks Utah’s top power-play unit, Durzi offers a reliable option for the second unit. He recorded the best offensive season of his career last season with the Arizona Coyotes. The Canadian scored nine goals and 32 assists for 41 points while quarterbacking Arizona’s first-man-advantage unit.
Out of Utah’s top three right-handed defensemen on its roster (Durzi, Marino and Michael Kesselring), Durzi possesses more offensive firepower than the other two. He nearly eclipsed the double-digit goal mark in his first and final season as a Coyote, finishing in the 86th percentile among NHL defensemen in goals. The Kings’ 2018 second-round selection was evident in Arizona’s goal-scoring abilities, posting the team’s best off-ice expected goals at 41.2%.
As shown above, in Durzi’s first two games since returning from injured reserve, he’s played alongside Olli Määttä. The two have combined for a 62.2% expected goals percentage, the seventh-best out of all of Utah’s defensive pairings this season.
“Both of them are really competitive,” Tourigny said of the Durzi and Määttä paring. “Durz (Durzi) I often say is our energy bunny. He wants it badly, I think he had a huge impact.”
Durzi Is an Upgrade Over Juuso Välimäki to Utah’s D-Core
Utah’s backend has played musical chairs all season, with 11 different D-men suiting up this season. Ian Cole and Kesselring are the only defensemen to dress in all of the team’s 58 games this season. With Juuso Välimäki going unclaimed on waivers yesterday (Feb. 24), Tourigny has made it clear who his top six defensemen are going forward.
The 6-foot-1, 196-pounder adds two seasons’ worth of playoff experience to a loaded backend in terms of playoff experience. Kesselring is the only defenseman in Utah’s current defensive pairings without the taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Changes Needed to Stay Off the Golf Course Come Playoffs
Utah currently holds the league’s second-lowest win total at home this season at 10 wins. The team has a 10-12-6 record at the Delta Center, only better than the San Jose Sharks’ home-ice record of 9-18-2. With 13 of its last 24 games in Utah, Tourigny’s squad will need to figure out how to perform in front of its new fan base.
Utah’s 2.79 goals for per game ranks them 22nd overall in the NHL. With forwards Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley back from injury, they should have no issue increasing this rate.
Tourigny’s staff have improved its special teams ranking. Utah, for a majority of the season, held a middle-of-the-pack power play and penalty kill. Now, the team holds the eighth-best penalty kill and 13th-best power play.
Utah has taken too many trips to the sin bin. With 559 penalty minutes, it’s the fourth-highest team in the league.
In addition to its struggles on home ice, Utah has struggled to finish games in the extra frame. The team has nine overtime losses, the second-highest in the NHL this season.
While Utah’s playoff hopes are still in question, Durzi has promised the fan base one thing:
“Going to give everything I have for the rest of the year here. It’s such an exciting time,” Durzi said. “I hope the city and state of Utah feels that. I’m ready to give my all again.”
