By Eric Stephens, Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun
Having an aggressive first offseason following its relocation from Arizona as the Coyotes, Utah Hockey Club continued solidifying its defense corps by re-signing Sean Durzi to a four-year contract on Sunday.
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported Durzi’s extension coming in with an average value of $6 million. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the 25-year-old Durzi will make $7.1 million next season, $5.6 million in 2025-26, $4.8 million in 2026-27 and $6.5 million in 2027-28. A 10-team no-trade clause will be in effect in the third and fourth years.
“We’re thrilled to have Sean in Utah with the team for the next four years,” Utah HC general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Sean is a reliable two-way defenseman who can anchor the power-play and provide offense from the blue line. He’s a young, highly skilled defenseman with an incredibly bright future, and we look forward to having him as a core player for this organization.”
DURZI RETURNS ✍️🩵
We have signed Sean Durzi to a four-year contract!#UtahHC pic.twitter.com/rXBdB0szg6
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) June 30, 2024
Durzi led all Coyotes defensemen with nine goals, 32 assists and 41 points. Traded by the Los Angeles Kings last summer for a second-round pick in this year’s draft, the 2018 second-round choice by the Toronto Maple Leafs flourished in a top-four, big-minute role with the Coyotes after playing further down in the Kings’ defense lineup.
“I think I have much more to reach,” Durzi told The Athletic last October. “That’s always been my way of going about it. You always feel as if you can give more and I think that’s really, really important for myself. My ceiling is — I don’t know yet. I believe there’s so much more I can get better at. I’ve already learned so much more this year than I even thought I could learn. And that’s always how it is, what you do day in, day out. Can I get better in these areas?
“And that’s my goal. My goal is to be the complete player. A guy you can depend on whether you need a goal with a minute-30 left or whether you need one off the board with a minute-30 left. A guy who’s going to be able to fight for his teammates and put his heart on the line for the team every single night.”
Utah has been active at the start of Ryan Smith’s ownership of the club. Without any of its defensemen signed following the 2023-24 season, Utah and its loads of salary-cap space have reshaped the blue line by trading for Mikhail Sergachev (with J.J. Moser heading to Tampa Bay) and John Marino while bringing back Michael Kesselring and Juuso Välimäki on new contracts.
In re-signing Durzi to a major deal, Utah could enter next season with its new No. 1 defenseman in Sergachev and the right-shot Durzi as his likely partner on the top pair. Utah, which has been making a splash under Smith, still has what CapFriendly estimates is another $22 million available under the cap as free agency begins Monday.
GO DEEPER
Is Utah Hockey Club playoff-bound after adding Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino?
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
