Happy Saturday Insiders…we have a deal to announce.
The LA Kings traded defenseman Sean Durzi for a 2024 second-round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes. The second-round pick is originally Montreal’s pick and was acquired by the Coyotes in 2021 as part of the package traded for forward Christian Dvorak. The Kings are retrieving a second-round pick in next season’s draft after changing their own pick in a deal with Philadelphia earlier this month that saw the Kings trade goaltender Cal Petersen and defenseman Sean Walker to the Flyers. Previously, the Kings had lost three picks in the 2024 draft, with their third-round pick included in the deal that took Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo from Columbus, and switched the fifth-round pick in exchange for forward Zack MacEwen. As of this writing, the Kings now have five picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, including picks in each of the first two rounds.
Instant analysis
The LA Kings remake continues as Durzi becomes the youngest member of the 2022-23 roster to retire this offseason.
The premise of the deal seems pretty simple. The Kings solidified their backend Top 4 earlier this month when they signed defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov on a two-year contract extension, establishing each of their top two defensive pairs for the 2023-24 season. The Kings also have two young, almost NHL-qualified right-backs in Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke. At the start of the offseason, right-handed defenders were the deepest position in the system. Signed Drew Doughty and Matt Roy, RD1 and RD2 are stable and have high-profile NHL talent, and behind them have been several players of, or close to, NHL caliber. The Kings are also now a salary cap team and every dollar counts. Spence and Clarke both have cap hits of under $1 million this season and both seem poised for a more regular NHL role, or at least deserve a chance to prove they’re ready for it. When you take all of these factors into account, the move sends a player who’s a little further along in development, and making more money as such, out for a prized second-round draft pick, while also opening up an opportunity for at least one of Spence or Clarke at the NHL level. Additionally, a team that relinquishes five third-round picks or higher in the 2022, 2023, and 2024 NHL drafts gets a draft asset back…or provides another strong asset that could be used in another transaction.
On the other hand, the Kings lose a unique and talented player in Durzi. This isn’t a situation where the Kings didn’t like Sean Durzi. They certainly did, and he played better than others available well into the postseason because the Kings appreciated a lot of the things he brought to the lineup. However, as an offensively gifted right-footed defender, he is comparable to Spence and Clarke. The Kings have faith in both Clarke and Spence and this move signals they believe one of these players can fill the role vacated by Durzi, likely suggesting minutes in the third pairing and second power play task, for half the seat versus the salary cap. The move frees up nearly $1 million in salary cap for the Kings, who have yet to add a goalie to the roster and sign multiple RFAs.
Durzi wasn’t a perfect player – prone to spotlight errors, but also a dynamic puck mover who could use his passing skills to add offense with both balanced strength and man advantage. He was also a characterful player who stood up for his teammates, and while not a great player, he tried to bring physicality to his game. A stat that puts Durzi’s game into perspective – on a per/60 basis in a 5-a-side game, he led all Kings defenders in goals, assists, points and giveaways. Durzi is a good NHL player who can create something offensively. He also had mistakes in his game that resulted in goals being conceded.
From the team’s official release –
The LA Kings traded defenseman Sean Durzi to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Montreal’s second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
24-year-old Durzi finished the 2022-23 season with 38 points (9-29=38) in 72 games and one goal in six playoff games. The 6-0, 195-pound blueliner has played 136 career NHL games, recording 12 goals and 53 assists for 65 points and adding four points (2-2=4) in 13 playoff games. He also appeared in 91 career games for Ontario Reign, the Kings’ premier affiliate of the American Hockey League (AHL), where he scored 50 points (11-39=50).
Durzi was acquired from the Kings in 2019 along with forward Carl Grundstrom and a 2019 first-round pick (defender Tobias Bjornfot) in exchange for defenseman Jake Muzzin from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Mississauga, Ontario native was originally selected by the Leafs in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.