Oilers' Nurse opens up about the pressure of his lucrative contract

Despite having led the Edmonton Oilers in time on ice for the past three seasons, Darnell Nurse has arguably been the team’s most criticized player over that stretch.

From a performance angle, Nurse is a player that every team in the league would love to have. He can play top-pairing minutes while providing offence and is as tough as they come. Unfortunately, his extremely lucrative contract has made him a lightning rod for criticism.

“You also have to take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt,” Nurse said in response to the criticism he faces on the Mitts Off with Luke Gazdic podcast. “I feel like I’ve been blamed for everything from a goal against to the traffic on Stony Plain. You have to be really cognizant of the pressure you put on yourself.”

The Oilers put themselves in a difficult position when they chose to sign Nurse to two separate bridge contracts. That really tied their hands, as he was set to become a UFA after the second of those two deals, and the Oilers could not afford to lose him. As a result, he was signed to a massive eight-year, $74 million deal that carries an average annual value (AAV)  of $9.25 million.

That AAV is the seventh highest for NHL defencemen, with others such as Roman Josi, Cale Makar, Alex Pietrangelo and Victor Hedman all coming in at less. Being paid more than some of those elite players has put a ton of pressure on Nurse, though he seems to enjoy that aspect of it.

“There was expectation before I signed the contract, of what I think I’m capable of performing and being at each and every night,” said Nurse. “I think the value or whatever you want to describe it is going to bring, I’ve played in a high-pressure market since I first came into the league, it’s great. Me, personally, I love it because there’s that juice, fire in the summer.”

This past season, Nurse scored 12 goals and a career-high 43 points while suiting up for all 82 games. Perhaps most impressive about those totals is that just one of those points came on the power play, as he took a back seat in that regard to Tyson Barrie and Evan Bouchard. While his contract will likely always be a talking point, he’ll be fine if he can continue playing at that same level moving forward.

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