Sean Durzi Scouting Report
The Player
Quick Hits from NaturalStatTrick
Sean Durzi is a 24 year old, 6’0” right-shot defenseman who spent a lot of the last year, his second in the NHL, in L.A. playing on his off-side for an average of 19:47 across 7s games. While doing so, he posted 9 goals and 29 assists for 38 total points while earning 51.54 CF% and a 47.93GF% at 5-on-5 (20 of his points came at 5-on-5).
Durzi has been in the playoffs in each of this NHL seasons playing a total of 13 games.
Diving Deeper with HockeyViz
Sean Durzi was below LA Kings average in terms of generating offense and suppressing shots. He still remained at or above league average in either case and performed admirably on the penalty kill and racked up some points on PP2 as well.
Sean Durzi played this season on the off-side and played almost exclusively with Matt Roy, another right-shot defenseman. Durzi was trusted to play in all situations and put up a respectable offensive season on a good Kings team.
Here, we can start to understand some of Durzi’s context. He played on his off-side, with a very capable partner in Matt Roy, and was asked to play against harder competition that he played with. Durzi and Roy formed a matchup pair, no easy task for a defenseman on their off-side, especially so for one in his second NHL season.
While he did not post team average numbers, he did play harder minutes and in a harder situation. Additionally, his numbers are competing with the pairing of Mikey Anderson and Drew Doughty, one of the leading examples of the new “retriever and entry-defender” pairing archetypes. After the trade deadline and in the playoffs, Durzi was bumped down for Vladislav Gavrikov, who posted quite obscene numbers after this transition.
Team Adjusted Data with Evolving Hockey
Here, algorithmically stripped of his team context, Sean Durzi shows out as a defender who helped suppress shots and shot quality but didn’t add much to the team in way of offensive generation. Most of his offense this past season came from the powerplay, which likely isn’t something he will have access to in Columbus if he is acquired.
The Microstats with the All Three Zones Project
If we remember, we can see that LA has a sort of striated responsibilities across their D pairs. The LD is primarily and entry defender and early play killer and their RD is a puck retriever and zone-exit driver.
Here, we can see that Sean Durzi outperformed all other LDs in terms of generating zone exits but didn’t quite match his fellow right-shot defensemen who were playing on their strong side. It’s likely that some of this data comes from his playing LD before the trade deadline but flexing fill minutes and getting some sustained strong-side time after Gavrikov’s acquisition. He was primarly partned with Alex Edler, a veteran LD, and Sean Walker who is a right-shot.
Here, we can see that Durzi performed in line with his LD role of being an aggressive entry defender. His denial% is high and his carry against% is below NHL average. He doesn’t quite measure up to Mikey Anderson, but few defenders in the NHL match his aggressive rush defense.
Durzi was, again, not top-performance but has now showcased a versatility across skillsets that can only count as a positive in his favor.
Sean Durzi continues to show out as exactly what his other numbers painted him as. The only wrinkle we add from his player card is his skill in passing to, and from, the center of the ice. This is a valuable skillset and shows his willingness to use his legs to create offense and, theoretically, would pair him well with a dynamic shooting defenseman.
The Contract via CapFriendly
Sean Durzi has one year remaining on his contract which has a cap hit of $1.7 million AAV. After that expires, he will be an RFA with arbitration.
The Fit
The Checkboxes
Primary Considerations
Aggressive Blueline Protection
Plays Left Side
Better than Team Defense
Sean Durzi passes the primary considerations. He is an aggressive entry defender, plays the left-side and has good defensive numbers across his minutes. While he didn’t perform better than LA as a whole, his RAPM suggests that he very much held his own.
Secondary Considerations
Veteran Savvy (bonus to Playoff or Stanley Cup Experience)
Surviving Tough Minutes
Penalty Killing
Short Term Contract Flexibility
Sean Durzi is not a veteran by any means. He has, however, played playoff games and those count for something. He very much showed he could play in difficult minutes and on the penalty kill. That he could survive these minutes while playing on his off-side suggests a talented defenseman.
Theoretically, he’s being acquired to fit next to David Jiricek. We project Jiricek to be a premiere retriever (and willing puck-shooter) but he hasn’t played NHL games yet so we don’t know which direction he’s truly going to go in. If Durzi is acquired to be his partner, he can theoretically fill either role and has performed well in tough matchups.
That being said, it’s unlikely that CBJ are acquiring a defenseman to intentionally play him on his off-side. The team has seen off-side defenseman struggle recently with Nick Blankenburg and Adam Boqvist but also last season with Jake Bean.
Interestingly, Sean Durzi then could project as a Zach Werenski partner, where he would be able to play his strong side but still showcase his aggressive entry defending. His less-than-stellar retrieval and exit numbers would be shored up by Werenski’s strengths and he could play a role on the PK. In the case that he doesn’t work as a Werenski partner (or that David Jiricek certainly does) he can play down the lineup and, if asked, flex back to his off-side.
Motive to Move
The Los Angeles Kings have quite the conundrum on their hands currently. They played the majority of last season with Doughty, Roy, Walker and Durzi all being right-handed defenseman. Matt Roy and Sean Walker have 1 more year remaining on their deals before UFA.
LA has Brandt Clarke who will most certainly be ready for a role but it’s not likely to be one where he’s asked to soak difficult matchups. Additionally, Jordan Spence looked like a player in 2021-2022 and has only performed well in the AHL this last year. LA appears to be interested in signing Vladislav Gavrikov, who fit like a glove, but only have around $7.5 million in cap space (and Gabe Vilardi and probably a goaltender to sign as well).
It’s not clear that Sean Durzi will be moved, especially if LA can’t sign Gavrikov, but the right offer could certainly force LA’s hand.
TL;DR
Sean Durzi played difficult minutes on his off-side and performed well. Stylistically he’s a great fit for the future of NHL defense and CBJ should be interested. While his side-flexibility is a plus, he likely won’t slot into Gavrikov’s old role.