Utah HC’s Sean Durzi leaves game against Devils with upper-body injury

During the Utah Hockey Club’s Monday afternoon game on Columbus Day against the New Jersey Devils, defenseman Sean Durzi left the game prematurely due to an upper-body injury.

In the opening minute of the second period of the contest, Durzi took an awkward hit from Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler while trying to move the puck into the offensive zone. It looked like Siegenthaler hit Durzi in the left shoulder, with the latter immediately leaving the ice in pain and going straight down the tunnel. The 25-year-old didn’t return, leaving UHC with five defenders for the remainder of the game.

Durzi played 9:09 of ice time across 12 shifts on Monday, registering a shot on goal and two blocked shots.

Durzi has played in all four games in Utah’s first season in the NHL, having notched two assists and a plus/minus of +2. The Mississauga native was involved in the franchise’s first-ever fight, going toe-to-toe with Connor Murphy of the Chicago Blackhawks in the team’s home opener last Tuesday.

While the extent of Durzi’s injury is currently unknown, Durzi doesn’t want to miss any extended period of time. The former Guelph Storm product missed five games last season, while the team was known as the Arizona Coyotes, with a lower-body injury. He still finished the year with nine goals, setting career-highs in assists (32), points (41) and plus/minus (-1).

It was Durzi’s first year with the team, as he was acquired by the Coyotes from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2024 second-round pick in June 2023. He liked his new digs in Salt Lake City enough to sign a four-year contract extension this past summer. The deal carries a cap hit of $6 million through the 2027-28 campaign.

Durzi was originally taken in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, before he even made his NHL debut, he was dealt to the Kings in Jan. 2019 in the trade that sent Jake Muzzin to the Leafs. Across four NHL seasons, including two in Los Angeles, Durzi has appeared in 216 games, scoring 21 goals and 87 assists for 108 points.