Darnell Nurse explains why he asked to be traded from Edmonton Oilers
Darnell Nurse knew his time with the Edmonton Oilers was coming to an end.
Wednesday’s trade didn’t come as a surprise to him. In fact, he even extended his list of teams he would be willing to go to in order to make a deal happen. Shortly after he did that, he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenceman Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp.
After a disappointing season capped off by being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Oilers management knew changes needed to be made. Doing so, however, was difficult given their cap situation, which made trading Nurse and his $9.25-million cap hit of utmost importance.
That said, this trade couldn’t have happened if Nurse hadn’t requested it, thanks to his no-movement clause. Shortly after the deal was confirmed, the 31-year-old briefly explained what led to his request.
“Sometimes it’s just time to go,” Nurse said. “You feel that personally, and you’ve got to stick to your gut.”
There seemed to be some frustration from Nurse, who may have felt like he had no other option than to waive his no-movement clause. It had been reported that Oilers management had asked him to do the same after the 2024-25 season, which he wasn’t happy with at the time.
When asked about how tough it was to leave an organization he has spent his entire 798-game career with, Nurse kept his answer very short.
“I can’t wait to go play in San Jose. Lots of good memories in Edmonton, but now that chapter closes.”
Another part of Nurse’s frustration is likely due to the constant criticism he took during his time in Edmonton. The veteran blueliner admitted that there were times he needed to be better, but also felt he was an easy target for fans to go after.
“No one expects more of themselves than me,” Nurse said. “No one is going to expect more out of myself and the way I play than myself, if I’m being quite honest. Joe from down the street can be mad because he can’t drink his beer and watch the second round of the playoffs.
“For me, I think there were times when you have a high cap hit, there were things that were definitely warranted, and my play warranted them. I would say you could look and see there was probably a lot of things as well that probably weren’t warranted. For whatever reason, I was the problem. That’s sports, though. That’s how it works.”
With this deal, Nurse joins a young Sharks team that is on their way to turning into a Stanley Cup contender. It will be a fresh start that could serve him well after being under the microscope for so many years in Edmonton.
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