Darnell Nurse playing best hockey of his career for Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers search of a defenceman doesn’t feel as dire right now, and it’s not due to the play of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard.
Aside from Ekholm and Bouchard, the Oilers blue line appeared to be an underwhelming one entering the 2024-25 season. Brett Kulak is a dependable player, but one who is viewed by most as a third-pairing option on a true Stanley Cup contender. Ty Emberson seemingly had potential, but was quite unknown.
Other options to play on the back end included Troy Stecher and the recently departed Travis Dermott, neither of whom sparked a ton of confidence from fans. And then, of course, was Darnell Nurse.
Nurse is a player who has always possessed a lot of gifts. He’s an elite skater, has offensive skill, and is tough as nails. His hockey IQ, however, was often questioned. In the past, he’s been prone to big gaffes defensively that, paired with his $9.25 million cap hit, has made him a lightning rod for criticism.
It just seemed that you never knew what you would be getting from him on a night-to-night basis. This season, however, it’s been a completely different story.
There’s a real argument to be made that Nurse has been the Oilers best defenceman this season. He’s seemingly eliminated the big mistakes in his game that caused headaches amongst the fan base in past years.
It isn’t as though he’s simplified his game, either. He’s still chipping in offensively with 17 points through 35 games, and continues to make life miserable on his opponents. His 53 hits are the most of all Oilers defencemen this season.
Over his last 22 games, Nurse has been a plus or even player 19 times. It isn’t as if he’s been sheltered, either, as he’s logged north of 22 minutes in 17 of those 22 outings. One of those also includes a game in mid November against the Toronto Maple Leafs in which he played just seven minutes before being forced to leave due to injury.
Between now and the March 5 trade deadline, it’s still expected that the Oilers will make a move for a defenceman. Should they be able to land one of the better blue liners available, and Nurse continues his strong play, they will have a legitimate top-four back end rolling into the playoffs. When’s the last time fans have been able to say that about this team?
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