Durzi signs 4-year contract and stays with Utah Hockey Club

Sean Durzi signed a four-year contract with the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 25-year-old defenseman was set to become a restricted free agent at noon ET on Monday. He scored 41 points (nine goals, 32 assists) in 76 games for the Arizona Coyotes this season, setting a new NHL career high.

“We are thrilled to have Sean join us in Utah for the next four years,” said Utah General Manager Bill Armstrong. “Sean is a reliable defenseman who can anchor the power play and provide offense from the blue line. He is a young, highly talented defenseman with an incredibly promising future and we look forward to having him as a starter for this organization.”

Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (No. 52) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Durzi recorded 106 points (21 goals, 85 assists) in 212 regular season games for the Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings, and four points (two goals, two assists) in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was traded by the Kings to the Coyotes on June 24, 2023 in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Utah also signed defenseman Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning and John Marino from the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 draft. Defenseman JJ Moser and forward Conor Geekie, a seventh-round pick in 2024 and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, were sent to the Lightning. Utah traded the No. 49 pick this year and a second-round pick in 2025 for Marino and the No. 153 pick in 2024.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said Saturday. “We needed to improve our (defensive) unit and I think this is a step in the right direction, no doubt about it. I think they’re two really good players.”

NHL.com senior editor Dan Rosen contributed to this report