Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sean Durzi

Utah Signs Sean Durzi To Four-Year Extension

at CDT | by 9 Comments

The Utah Hockey Club has signed defenseman Sean Durzi to a four-year contract extension (Twitter link). The new deal will carry a $6MM cap hit, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link), who also mentions that this term buys two years of UFA eligibility.

This move continues a busy weekend for Utah general manager Bill Armstrong, who’s already made moves to trade into the first-round and acquire both Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino. Armstrong will now solidify the top of his blue line by signing Durzi with term, just over one year after he acquired Durzi for the 2024 second-round pick used on Alfons Freij.

Durzi proceeded to have a statement year with the Arizona Coyotes, tallying a career-high 41 points in 76 games as the team’s top defenseman. He averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time every night, serving on both special teams. The performance continued Durzi’s rise to fame over the last three seasons. Durzi, a 2018 second-round pick, made his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings in 2021 after three modest years in the AHL. But he showed up to southern California ready to play, ultimately recording 27 points in 64 games and pulling his way up to an average of 19 minutes a night as a rookie. He continued the growth as a sophomore, recording 38 points in 72 games while holding onto his strong role in the lineup.

Durzi’s growth didn’t slow down with a move to Arizona and the club is now betting it won’t slow in the move to Utah either. Durzi stands as Utah’s top right-defenseman and could be set for a prime role next to Sergachev, pending any summer additions. After this extension and their pair of trades, Utah is entering the summer with $22.265MM in cap space and five pending free agents, including Barrett Hayton. That should put them in a great spot to continue their run of strong additions when free agency opens up on Monday.

Injury Notes: Grubauer, Coyotes, Hedman

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Seattle Kraken netminder Philipp Grubauer has not played in the team’s last two games, and today head coach Dave Hakstol told the media, including team reporter Alison Lukan, that Grubauer’s status is considered week-to-week. The result of Hakstol’s announcement is that Grubauer’s availability for the Winter Classic in Seattle is now in question.

A former Vezina Trophy finalist, Grubauer has split starts this season with Joey Daccord. Grubauer’s form since signing a $5.9MM AAV contract with the Kraken has been poor, and this season has been no different. He has a .884 save percentage, a decline from the .895 mark he posted the year before. With Grubauer out, the Kraken will turn to a tandem of Daccord and Chris Driedger.

Some other injury notes from across the NHL:

  • PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reported three injury updates from Arizona today: forward Nick Schmaltz is injured and will be a game-time decision for Friday’s game, defenseman Sean Durzi is unlikely to play that game due to injury, and injured forward Jack McBain, who has not played in over a month, is expected to return to the ice. The best news of this trio is undoubtedly the return of McBain. The 23-year-old physical center scored 12 goals and 26 points in his rookie season last year, registering 304 hits along the way, which ranked second among all forwards. He had scored a healthy seven points in 13 games before getting injured in November.
  • Bally Sports Florida’s Gabby Shirley reports that 2018 Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman will not play in tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers due to an upper-body injury. It’s unclear if Hedman will miss more time beyond tonight’s game. The legendary 32-year-old defenseman has been one of the league’s best defensemen this season, scoring 27 points in 29 games. Without Hedman in their lineup, the struggling Lightning will face a tall task attempting to beat the Oilers, as Edmonton is riding an eight-game winning streak.

Snapshots: Kane, Dahlin, Durzi

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings have announced that legendary winger Patrick Kane will make his debut with the club in their Thursday night matchup against the San Jose Sharks. The game will also mark Kane’s return from the hip resurfacing surgery that he underwent on June 1st.

Kane will look to become the third NHL player to return from a hip resurfacing surgery, with top centerman Nicklas Backstrom representing the second to ever return. Backstrom made it back for the second half of the 2022-23 season, and eight games this season, but is currently on a leave of absence from the Washington Capitals due to complications with his injury.

Thursday night will mark only the 20th regular-season game that Kane has played outside of the Chicago Blackhawks organization. He joined the New York Rangers at last season’s trade deadline, appearing in 19 games and scoring 12 points with the club. These performances brought his career totals to 1180 games, 451 goals, and 1237 points. Kane was originally the first-overall selection in the 2007 NHL Draft.

Other notes from around the league:

Coyotes Notes: Trade Rumors, Dumba, Dermott

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan recently shared that the team is actively looking to trade away prospects and draft picks for lineup upgrades. Morgan says this trade interest is inspired by the success of Sean Durzi, who the Coyotes acquired from Los Angeles this summer. Durzi has 12 points in his first 19 games in Arizona while averaging a monster 23-and-a-half minutes a night, three minutes more than any other Coyotes skater. The Yotes only traded away a 2024 Second Round pick for the 25-year-old defenseman and, after a modest 8-9-2 start to the season, are hoping that lineup upgrades like Durzi could kick them into gear sooner than expected.

Arizona certainly has the pieces to build around. Durzi has provided a strong boost of scoring to the blue-line, alongside J.J. Moser, who has 10 points in 19 games. The duo backs up a forward group that’s leveled out, after a top-heavy start to the year. Arizona currently has nine players with 10 or more points this season, led by Clayton Keller’s 18 points in 19 games. Matias Maccelli has continued to rack up the assists and Logan Cooley is settling into the NHL well. With the right upgrades, there’s reason to be excited about what’s going on in Mullett Arena.

Other Coyotes notes:

Arizona Coyotes Extend Bill Armstrong

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Arizona Coyotes announced this morning that they have extended the contract of general manager Bill Armstrong. Financial terms and the length of the multi-year agreement were not released. The deal comes on the heels of what was a very busy summer for Armstrong and the Coyotes as they have added a lot of talent to their NHL roster including veterans Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Sean Durzi, Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad.

PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan later reported Armstrong is now under contract for six more seasons – Armstrong signed a four-year extension, while the team picked up a previously existing option for 2024-25. He’s now under contract through the 2028-29 campaign.

The 53-year-old has been the Coyotes general manager since the 2020-21 season and has overseen a rather large rebuild during that time. Armstrong essentially stripped the Coyotes roster down to the studs and rebuilt it through drafting, trades, and free agency. Prior to joining Arizona, the Richmond Hill, Ontario, native worked in the St. Louis Blues’ scouting department from 2004-18. It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that he earned a promotion to assistant GM before eventually joining Arizona.

The Coyotes have not qualified for the playoffs since Armstrong took over, and the team has only made the playoffs a total of four times since 2004. While they are once again going through a lean period, Arizona looks to be on the verge of a good run of hockey in the desert. Should they stay there.

The team will likely get a jolt from this summer’s signings and trades as well as top prospect Logan Cooley, who could be a difference-maker in Arizona as early as this season.

The signing of the coaching staff, Armstrong, and the player acquisitions this summer show stability within the hockey operations of Arizona, even if the team’s future off the ice is up in the air.

Arizona Coyotes Extend André Tourigny

at CDT | by 6 Comments

August 23: Arizona has confirmed Tourigny’s extension, which lasts for three years.

August 22: Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes have officially signed head coach André Tourigny to a contract extension. It was reported earlier this month that the two sides were involved in negotiations and that a deal was close, but sources now tell Morgan it is completed.

At the time of the negotiations, Morgan reported that the holdup was Tourigny’s desire to get extensions in place for his coaching staff as well as himself – something that has reportedly been accomplished as the Coyotes have also locked up John Madden, Mario Duhamel and goalie coach Corey Schwab to extensions.

A native of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Tourigny is about to embark on his third season at the helm of the Coyotes. And while his 53-90-21 record with Arizona is ugly on the surface, he has been guiding a roster that largely consists of prospects and castoffs. But record aside, Tourigny has done a good job keeping the group competitive on most nights and fostering a culture that must be positive given that several players who have been traded away previously have elected to return when they hit free agency.

No terms of the new contract have been released, but it should make the upcoming season more comfortable for Tourigny and his staff as they start a season where there will be expectations on the club to win some games. Arizona has been one of the busier teams in the off-season, swinging a trade for Sean Durzi and signing Jason Zucker, Alexander Kerfoot, Matt Dumba, and Nick Bjugstad.

Tourigny hasn’t had pressure to win thus far in his reign as the head coach of the Coyotes, but with a new contract in hand, and some serious depth added to the lineup, the pressure will begin to mount for Tourigny and Arizona to win some games.

Snapshots: Nylander, Dumba, Domi

at CDT | by 10 Comments

Chris Johnston reported on The Chris Johnston Show that the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward William Nylander remain far apart in extension talks. Johnston said that he believes that the 27-year-old is looking for a contract that pays him over $10MM annually while the Maple Leafs offer is in the range of $8MM-$9MM per season.

Nylander’s ask is reasonable given that he has put up back-to-back 80+ point seasons and is a pending unrestricted free agent. The trouble for the Leafs will be managing a potential Nylander extension with the cap hits of Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and whatever number Auston Matthews signs for. Couple that with the Morgan Rielly extension and a salary cap that hasn’t budged much in recent seasons, and it could create a very top-heavy team in Toronto going forward.

Nylander had a career year last season putting up 40 goals and 47 assists in 82 games and has silenced critics in recent years who doubted his ability to score in the postseason. Nylander has been a point a game player in both the regular season and the playoffs the past few years and would generate a ton of interest if his name were to be floated in the trade market.

In other snapshots from around the NHL:

  • Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes have been in pursuit of free agent defenseman Matt Dumba since the start of free agency on Saturday. Dumba picked a very unfortunate time to have the worst offensive season of his NHL career as he put up just four goals and 10 assists this past season in 79 games with the Minnesota Wild. The 28-year-old Regina native has been a 25-point defenseman for most of his career but regressed offensively last year and saw very little in the way of power play time. Arizona has been aggressive in free agency thus far signing Jason Zucker, Alexander Kerfoot, and retaining Nick Bjugstad while trading for defenseman Sean Durzi.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet mentioned this morning that newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi would like to remain with the team well beyond the one year he signed on for. Domi was inked to a one-year deal that will pay him $3MM this season, but as Friedman puts it Domi wants Toronto to be his long-term home and it’s easy to see why. Domi’s father Tie Domi was one of the most popular Maple Leafs in recent history and Max spent much of his childhood in Toronto while his father was still playing. He will now get the chance to put on the same jersey he watched his father wear and play in front of the same fans who cheered his Dad on for 12 seasons.

Poll: What Has Been The Most Impactful Pre-Draft Trade?

at CDT | by 11 Comments

The 2023 NHL Draft is now only three days away, and there has already been a flurry of activity in the NHL trade market. Yesterday, we saw the Colorado Avalanche acquire Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators, and the Arizona Coyotes acquire Sean Durzi from the Los Angeles Kings. Following up on those deals, there is heavy expectation that the St. Louis Blues will acquire Kevin Hayes from the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Carolina Hurricanes will add back Anthony DeAngelo to their lineup. If yesterday didn’t bring enough action, it’s also expected that the Kings are close to acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets.

After losing Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames last offseason, the Avalanche had a very difficult time replacing the void left by Kadri on the team’s second forward line. Throughout this past season, Colorado originally tried to patrol Alex Newhook in that role, but after failing to live up to expectations, J.T. Compher was thrust into that role. Compher did excel, scoring 17 goals and 35 assists this season, the best statistical performance of his career. Unfortunately for the Avalanche, Compher is set to enter unrestricted free agency, and Colorado may not have the cap space to retain him.

By acquiring Johansen from the Predators, the Avalanche clearly wanted to make an outside move to complete their second line. This past season, Johansen did not play particularly well, scoring 12 goals and 16 assists in 55 games, having his season ended by a foot injury in February. However, the year prior, Johansen was a proficient offensive player in Nashville, scoring 26 goals and 37 assists.

Sticking in the Central Division, the expected acquisition of Hayes for the Blues should fill the void left behind by Ryan O’Reilly last season. Hayes has very much had an up-and-down career, having much of his time spent in Philadelphia hampered by injuries. This past season, he did have the best offensive output so far with the Flyers, scoring 18 goals and 36 assists in 81 games. It was well known that Hayes and head coach John Tortorella sparred quite consistently, and it was becoming more and more clear that his time in Philadelphia would be coming to an end.

In Los Angeles, the Kings’ trade of Durzi largely indicated that the team was trying to move out money to acquire better talent. In Durzi, Los Angeles largely had a defenseman that was exceptional at moving the puck but was not as responsible on the defensive side of the game. He did score 38 points last year for the Kings, but the underlying defensive metrics were not positive. Opening up $1.7MM with that trade, it has now been reported that the Kings are expected to acquire Dubois, as well as sign him to an extension. Not only will this move allow the Kings to strengthen their second line, but by being able to move Phillip Danault to the third-line center position, Los Angeles may be one of the deepest teams in the Western Conference.

Lastly, the Hurricanes are bringing back a familiar face, as reports indicate that Carolina and Philadelphia are working on a trade. Last offseason, the Hurricanes felt that DeAngelo’s asking price on his next contract was too rich for their blood, and moved him to the Flyers for three draft picks. By acquiring DeAngelo, Carolina now has four defensemen set to hit unrestricted free agency next season, even though it does strengthen their blue line for next year.

After all the moves up to this point, which player do you think will have the biggest impact on their next team?

Coyotes Acquire Sean Durzi

at CDT | by 20 Comments

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.

Evening Notes: O’Reilly, Robertson, Anderson

at CDT | by 4 Comments

After losing Alex Pietrangelo to free agency a couple of offseasons ago, having David Perron and Ville Husso leave the same way this offseason, and observing this summer’s Calgary Flames from afar, the St. Louis Blues made it a priority this offseason to sign young stars Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou long-term. The organization accomplished that feat on Tuesday by signing Kyrou to an eight-year, $65MM contract which will kick in during the 2023-24 season – two months to the day after Thomas signed an identical deal. Although St. Louis has several key UFAs at season’s end, including Ryan O’Reilly an Vladimir Tarasenko, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Blues’ priority was to get their two pending RFAs signed long-term.

Despite their clear focus, Friedman believes St. Louis will take a run at re-signing O’Reilly too, seeing term as the likely sticking point for both sides, O’Reilly turning 32 in February. A comparable contract could be Nazem Kadri, as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests, given his age and style of play, but as Friedman says, “I don’t know if I can see St. Louis doing that” (Kadri signed for seven years and $49MM). Of course, with their two biggest building blocks signed long-term through their prime years, the Blues have put themselves in a good position, however it’s still worth noting the departure of two key pieces from this year’s team (Perron and Husso) and further departures of O’Reilly or Tarasenko, or both, could put a further dent in the team’s plans for it’s current build.

  • Earlier this week, we discussed Jason Robertson’s contract negotiations, which were said to be speeding up with an open dialogue. Friedman also discussed the potential contract on today’s podcast, opining that a possible eight-year, $64MM contract might not be enough to sign the young forward long-term anymore. Friedman cites to the recent extensions of Kyrou and Tim Stutzle, both for eight-years at $65MM and $66.8MM, respectively, as examples of why Robertson could reasonably reject a long-term offer at an AAV of $8MM. Complicating the matter even more is that, right now, Dallas wouldn’t be able to afford an $8MM cap hit on Robertson anyways, having just over $6.3MM in available salary cap space. In that case, the more likely scenario would be a bridge deal for both sides that would carry Robertson to, or at least closer to, UFA status. If Dallas is intent on signing their RFA long-term, one option to clear cap space, which was suggested a few weeks ago by Dallas Stars Senior Staff Writer Mike Heike, would be to trade goaltender Anton Khudobin, who carries a $3.33MM cap hit.
  • A final note from Friedman today, the Los Angeles Kings may have been interested in trying to sign defenseman Mikey Anderson to a long-term contract extension. As he elaborates, Friedman believes the team had talked to him about what it would take to get a long-term deal done, but just didn’t have the ability to fit it in. The Kings and Anderson will be able to sign another extension beginning on January 1st of next year, and though Friedman didn’t say a long-term signing is going to be announced then and there, he does believe Los Angeles was able to get a sense of what that deal might have to look like and can better handle it in the future. Rumors that the Kings could try to sign Anderson long-term are interesting considering the defenseman signed just a one-year, $1MM contract a few days ago, causing some to wonder that if that was the price on a one-year pact, it couldn’t have been all that much more for four or more years. Though that might be the case, the recent signings of Anderson an fellow defenseman Sean Durzi leave the team with just under $500K in cap room, which would be a tight squeeze if Anderson’s number came in just under $1.5MM per season, but on a long-term deal for a promising young defenseman, that number may well have been higher.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top