Good deal, Arizona’s taking advantage of LAs crowded right side.

Reads like a Gostisbehere replacement to me.

Los Angeles clearing cap space for PLD

Fair deal. Kings clear some cap while making room for Clarke and/or Spence inevitably making the roster and replenishing early round draft picks they have traded away over the last few seasons.

Coyotes get a good offensive defenseman (a little bit meh defensively) that they could potentially move at the deadline to a contending team that may be desperate and willing to overpay. They def have the pics to spare and inch closer to the cap floor.

Kent Hughes magic that turned a bottom pair D into Kirby Dach.



They'll probably get a retention spot back at some point from Bettman if they dont leave, too

Fair deal, he wasn’t too great as a 2nd pair defenseman last season but he was also on his weak side. LA have too many defenders so I think this is a great trade for both, especially since Montreal likely won’t be good which makes it more valuable

Its still not enough a bunch of RFA up front and defenseman to sign then a legit goalie with under 10M in space this year. Even when clearing RFA Villardi and Iafallo wont be enough as they need to clear more money in 2024 with a bunch more raises due including a new contract for Kopitar. Villardi/Iafallo wont get in a rental trade either. Nashville seems much more likely after todays deal. SJS, MTL. The contenders are still capped til a massive cap ceiling increase which seems to be in 2025 with the money pit in Arizona.

We predicted/hoped for a pick in the 25 - 32 range and got one in the 33 - 39 range. I wouldn't say that was "way off" on his value.

I don't think anyone who watched his defensive play regularly expected much more than a 2nd

Agreed. But (a) he was playing his off-side and one pairing higher than he should have due to roster mis-construction, and (b) you can teach defensive responsibility a lot easier than you can teach offensive talent. He'll improve with time. I wish him the best. He did everything we asked of him, and never complained.

The Kings definitely needed to get someone off their roster for Jordan Spence; it did seem to me like he had proven his worth in Ontario and needed a roster spot. Curious that they moved on from Durzi instead of Matt Roy, but I would assume Bill Armstrong wasn't as interested in someone like Roy on the roster; Durzi fits more with the current timeline for the Coyotes' roster as opposed to Roy and was likely a more appealing asset to him.

I think Durzi should be looking forward to the opportunity to try and make a case for 1st-pairing mins on the Coyotes' roster; he seems to have the offense necessary for that kind of role but would never have displaced Drew Doughty on the Kings' roster. As it stands, there's really nobody on the existing roster that would likely challenge Durzi for that spot; Josh Brown is a 3rd-pair guy, and Victor Söderström hasn't grabbed that role by the horns yet (though he's only 22, and defenders take longer to develop). I doubt Juuso Välimäki wants to play on his off-side all that much, either (it makes the waiver claim look all that much sillier for the Flames, tbh, though that entire situation is a mess, as we've all discovered). I feel like you can probably teach defensive responsibility to a defender more easily than you can teach them offensive capabilities, though, and I think J. J. Moser should be capable of covering for any weird brain farts that Durzi makes on the ice defensively.

I like this a lot of both sides. LA gets a decent pick for a guy that is easily replaced (Hello Brandt Clarke 👀), and Arizona moves one of their four 2024 2nds for a good young defenseman

If Montreal finishes where they did this season, this pick will be close to a late first.

That's true, but for even the first 2 rounds, 5-10 spots can be a lot

Pretty much what he is.

Good on the PP. Decent offensively. Not good defensively. Prone to making mistakes.

I don't get why people thought he was worth a 1st. GMs just don't value those types of players that highly. Any team trading for him would need an open spot as a PP QB, which makes him a decent fit for Arizona.

Yet another L for the Kings

the Kings wont miss Durzi- theyve got Clarke, Grans,Spence all ready for the NHL, and this clears a little cap space. Should get top pair minutes in Arizona, and maybe some decent numbers if they can put together a decent powerplay. They have very little NHL talent on their roster, and lots of cap space, so this is a perfect fit for arizona.

Which will prevent an idea of a PLD offer sheet. The Jets would be stupid to match unless it is for a big term, I guess but of course it would be 1 year term in theory. These trades and an wful ufa class may signal a potential offer sheet option this Summer. Edmonton is vulnerable on Bouchard for 1 example. Swayman and Boston on another. It would be fun but the NHL hates that!

Everyone saying Durzi should have got a 1st rounder hasn't seen him play. He's a decent offensive blueliner but he's an outright liability on defense. Maybe if he develops skills over the next few years he could be a first rounder value, but he's not right now and the Kings need to shed cap and contracts. Spence and Clarke are both better than Durzi, it was only a matter of time before he got moved and the time needed to be now.

Statistically false. A player drafted 31st has 38% chances to play >200G, 5% more than a 41st pick OA.

And block MTL to do an offersheet by holding their pick. 4D chess right here!

Looks like Arizona has moved on to the next stage of their rebuilding plan, where, having lost out on the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, they’re actually trying to get better now. First buying out a couple of guys, and now giving up a draft pick for a guy on a reasonable contract. If this means they’re no longer interested in being a dumping ground for bad contracts, that could raise the price other teams will have to pay to get rid of those contracts. We could see more buyouts, or good players being traded cheap to clear cap space for better players.

Disagree, apparently he was a defensive black hole, so, that probably reduced his price.
I thought he'd fetch a '23 2nd though.

Bill Armstrong doesn't seem to be inclined to give up the Coyotes' original picks in trades, and rightly so, imo. They're not doin' super-hot in the standings, so their own picks are worth more and would require a significant return. As it stands, the Coyotes only had their own 2023 2nd, as opposed to (before the trade) 4 2024 2nds. Makes sense that they'd rather give up a pick that wasn't theirs originally.

Turned cap space (Ladd) into JJ Moser, and a second. The turned Dvorak's money and that second (and their own) into Geekie and Durzi.

Dvo and their own second out.
A year of Ladd, Moser, Geekie, Durzi in.

As someone mentioned, he basically fills the hole left by Ghost (which turned into a bunch of picks itself). We'll see if Bear can coach him up like he did Ghost. Decent gamble considering their lack of depth on the blue line.