Sean Durzi Ready to Embrace Top-Pairing Role with Rangers

If the Rangers needed a reminder of what Sean Durzi can provide and how one of their newest defensemen can add needed offense, they only have to look back to a Jan. 5 game against the Mammoth. Early in overtime, Durzi veered toward the right post after his pass was deflected, received the puck from Nick Schmaltz and deposited the puck past Jonathan Quick.

He found the pocket of space during the 3-on-3 session, crashed toward the net and found a way to convert. It marked one of Durzi’s five goals and 27 points last year — below his career-best seasons of 41 and 38 in 2023-24 and 2022-23, respectively, but still emblematic of his high floor — and captured some of the instincts he’ll bring to the Rangers after arriving as part of the return package in the Vincent Trocheck trade July 1.

Even just a few days into a condensed training camp, it has already become clear that Durzi will fill a critical role as the top right-handed defenseman behind Adam Fox. He’s “gonna be able to eat minutes,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of the former second-round pick in 2018 who has averaged at least 19 minutes of ice time in all five of his seasons. He’ll get a “long look” as one of the options to quarterback the second power-play unit, too, Sullivan said.

And after a summer that featured the Rangers overhauling their blue line, Durzi has embraced the expectations that accompany his expected top four responsibilities — likely on a pairing with Marcus Pettersson. “I’ve played top four for the majority of my career,” Durzi told The Post after the Rangers training camp sessions and scrimmage in Tarrytown. “You want that pressure. You put it on yourself to perform, but most importantly, you gotta believe you can do it.”

Durzi is essentially the Rangers' insurance policy with Fox. With Fox limited to 55 games last year, the Blueshirts struggled to replace him on the top pairing alongside Vladislav Gavrikov. Braden Schneider, who received plenty of opportunities as the Fox replacement, was on the ice for a team-worst 63 goals at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, and has skated on the third pairing of the Rangers’ NHL group in training camp.

Durzi, 27, could help with the transition if Fox misses time this season. Entering the first preseason game Monday night against the Devils, Durzi has skated exclusively with Pettersson — who the Blueshirts acquired from the Canucks and who played with Sullivan in Pittsburgh — and leaned on Pettersson while adjusting to Sullivan. The Rangers coach, Durzi said, operates with “a lot of honesty.” He knows that Durzi wants to be pushed and feels like he has “more to give” in every area.

“I think he has good offensive instincts,” Sullivan said. “He can pass the puck. We knew that when we got him, and I think that was one of the things that attracted us to him. … I can tell in the first three days he’s a guy that’s gonna be able to eat minutes, and when you have defensemen that are capable of eating minutes, those are good guys to have.”

In addition to getting a chance to audition for the power-play role, Durzi could also help the Blueshirts penalty-kill unit, Sullivan said. He could help them with breakouts — something the Blueshirts struggled with last season. With his skating, Durzi could join the Blueshirts on the rush, too, Sullivan added.

The extent of Durzi’s role with the Rangers will settle into place across the upcoming days and weeks. They haven’t worked on special teams yet through three sessions of training camp, but they’ll open their exhibition slate Monday night against the Devils. Then, they’ll open the regular season Sept. 29 against the Bruins. Those nights will serve as hints of Durzi’s role in the present.

His offensive abilities, at least initially, have impressed Sullivan. With two years left on his contract, Durzi will have a chance to carve out a role into the future, too. Given his placement behind Fox on the depth chart and the relatively thin options behind him, his role for the Rangers could become even more vital.