The Utah Hockey Club announced on Tuesday evening that defenceman Sean Durzi has recovered from a shoulder injury and will be activated off injured reserve. Utah head coach Andre Tourigny said Durzi is expected to make his return this Saturday against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings, after his lengthy absence. It will be Utah’s first game since the league started its break for the 4 Nations Face-Off on February 10
Durzi has missed a total of 52 games this season. However, he could have missed more games. Durzi was originally expected to be out until sometime in April
The last game he played was on October 14, a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The 26-year-old recorded a career high 41 points and 160 blocks in 76 games last season, 16 of them came on the power play. Utah’s needed a player like Durzi for a while now because of the many injuries on the team’s defence. He is one of Utah’s top puck-moving defenceman and he will likely get time on the power play.
He could jump right into Utah’s top-four, joining Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino, and Ian Cole. However, Utah may choose to use Durzi on the third pairing with limited minutes and ease him back into action. It’s more likely that he will steadily work his way up the lineup and land on Utah’s top defensive pairing.
What He Adds to the Lineup
Besides Sergachev, Utah was in dire need of another defenceman that can provide another layer of offence. The other Utah defencemen don’t have the same offensive mentality as Durzi, so he will fill the role perfectly. Since he is a brilliant skater, Durzi adds a dynamic element that Utah’s blue line was lacking. Utah is still just six points behind the Vancouver Canucks for a wild card spot.
