Utah Hockey Club Potential Trade with Maple Leafs Gains Momentum After Recent Update

Last week, Utah HC defenseman Sean Durzi became injured and today it was revealed that he is officially out 4-6 months after having shoulder surgery. The team confirmed today that Durzi has already had the procedure and is expected to return some time in 2025, likely sometime around the end of the regular season.

Additionally, fellow defenseman John Marino is also out 3-4 months after having surgery to repair his lower back. This is a huge blow to the team as both players were big parts of the teams defense, especially Durzi, who is coming off a career season last year where he scored 41 points.

According to NHL insider Chris Johnston, the club currently plans on filling those vacancies internally. In a corresponding move, they have called up 2022 1st round pick Maveric Lamoureux.

That being said, if the club has serious intentions on competing for a playoff spot in their inaugural season, they are going to have to do something to address this sudden lack of depth on the blueline. Naturally, this has lead to speculation that the team could make a move for Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren, who has already been in trade rumors this season. Fans of the team have already started pointing to him as a potential solution. He would be almost a perfect replacement for Durzi as he also shoots right and can run a powerplay at the NHL level. Furthermore, both players have fairly similar roles and capabilities based on public analytics models, as well as the old-fashioned eye test.

Will Utah make a splash so early into their existence? We will just have to wait and see what happens, but suddenly, they are a very interesting team to keep an eye on in the trade market.