The season is quickly approaching, which means it’s time to look towards the future. We do that every year with the Five For Howling 25 Under 25, ranking the Coyotes’ best players under 25. For this year’s rankings, I am joined by James Reeve (@JamesRJReeve), Mike Gould (@miketgould), Haynes Evans (@HaynesPEvans), and Matthew Jacobson (@TheAZSportsGuy).
Sean Durzi
2022-23 League: NHL (Los Angeles Kings)
Games Played: 72
Goals: 9
Assists: 29
NHL Playoffs Games Played: 6
NHL Playoffs Goals: 1
NHL Playoffs Assists: 0
Highest Rating: 6
Lowest Rating: 7
The Arizona Coyotes have been looking to upgrade their blue line for a while now. Even before the team traded Jakob Chychrun, it was clear that they needed to do a lot to improve that aspect of their game. The Coyotes took a step forward to improving their defensive corp this offseason, sending Montréal’s 2024 second-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Sean Durzi.
Durzi is a young player with a massive offensive upside who still needs to improve defensively. You rarely see 24-year-olds like Durzi, but the Kings have a packed blue line, so the Coyotes had the chance to get a good player.
With 38 points last season, Durzi would have finished sixth on the Coyotes last season. He would have led all defensemen in poised and seems poised to lead the Coyotes’ blue line this season.
Bringing in Durzi should hopefully revitalize the Coyotes’ previously lackluster power play. Last season, the Coyotes’ power play was awful, finishing 24th and converting only 18.9% of the time. Durzi had 16 power play points last season, which would put him behind only Clayton Keller on the Coyotes last season.
Durzi seems likely to get top-four minutes this season and will likely get first-unit power play time. There is no guarantee it will all work out for him, but he should have every opportunity to succeed in the desert.
If Durzi needs more motivation to succeed with his new team, it is also a contract year. Durzi is in the final year of a two-year, $3.4 million deal and will be eligible for arbitration. It is hard to think of a more perfect solution for Durzi to succeed this season.