Nurse wants out of Edmonton Oilers and these two teams are on his trade list
Darnell Nurse wants to be traded away from the Edmonton Oilers, and we have an idea of where he wants to go.
The 31-year-old defenceman has officially requested a trade from the Oilers, with reports on Thursday saying he has provided Edmonton with a list of preferred destinations. That is an important wrinkle in this situation, as Nurse currently holds a full no-movement clause and must approve any trade he’s involved in.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Mark Spector initially reported that Nurse’s list consisted of three to five teams he’d be willing to entertain a move to, but the names of those teams were not revealed.
It didn’t take long for some of those teams to leak, as NHL insider David Pagnotta reported that two teams included on that list are the LA Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins.
“As per sources, [The Fourth Period] has learned the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings are two teams he would be willing to sign off for,” Pagnotta wrote.
There should be no surprise for either of those teams, as Nurse has some obvious connections to both the Kings and Penguins.
A trade to L.A. would reunite him with GM Ken Holland, who was the one who signed Nurse to his current eight-year deal back in 2021, and was always a staunch supporter of the veteran defenceman. It would also reunite Nurse with Cody Ceci, who was his longtime defensive partner with the Oilers.
For the Penguins, the connection is with GM Kyle Dubas, who dealt a lot with Nurse as the GM of the OHL’s SOO Greyhounds between 2011 and 2014. The Pittsburgh executive seems to have a soft spot for Greyhounds alumni, and Nurse would fit a need on the Penguins’ blueline.
There is no word if LA or Pittsburgh would be interested in swinging a trade for Nurse, and if they would be willing to take on the full freight of his cap hit. With those two teams on his list, Bowman will definitely be placing a call to each to gauge interest, if he hasn’t already.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were not mentioned, but there is reason to believe that they could also be on that list. Nurse is from the Toronto area and was reportedly almost dealt to the Leafs at the trade deadline.
While the trade request has gone public, Pagnotta added that a Nurse trade is not imminent, and there will be more for both sides to sort through before a deal can be completed.