Edmonton Oilers trade Darnell Nurse to San Jose
The Edmonton Oilers have traded Darnell Nurse.
Following a stressful month of chaos after Nurse requested a trade out of Edmonton, GM Stan Bowman has delivered on a deal with the San Jose Sharks.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the veteran defenceman had opened up his trade list to include San Jose on Wednesday, and it didn’t take long after that for a deal to come together for the two sides.
In exchange for Nurse, the Oilers acquired defenceman Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp.
There is no retention as part of the deal.
TRADE š
The #Oilers have acquired defencemen Shakir Mukhamadullin & Zack Sharp from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Darnell Nurse. pic.twitter.com/e9b4hW7Jdn
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 1, 2026
This is a massive trade for the Oilers, as they have officially gotten out of the last four years of Nurse’s contract, opening up an astounding $9.25 million in cap space. That will give Bowman and the Oilers a lot more flexibility to navigate the offseason, and a warm body in Mukhamadullin to add straight into the lineup.
The 24-year-old Mukhamadullin is a left-shot defenceman who played third-pairing minutes with San Jose last season. He notched five goals and 12 points in 50 games and is known for his defensive abilities more than anything else.
He will help round out Edmonton’s blue line and give the Oilers a younger, cheaper option to work with. Bowman will need to sign Mukhamadullin, as he is currently an RFA.
This is the second trade of the day for the Oilers, after acquiring goaltender Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres earlier.
Nurse had initially given the Oilers a three-team trade list that included the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Boston Bruins, but the veteran defenceman opted to adjust that list to include San Jose as well.
It marks the end of an era for the Oilers. Nurse was one of the longest-tenured players on Edmonton, having been drafted seventh overall by the Oilers back in 2013 and an NHL regular since the 2015-16 season.
Nurse was once seen as an untouchable part of this Oilers roster, having come up as the team’s top defenceman during the Connor McDavid era. However, his play started to see a bit of decline in recent years, and the emergence of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm pushed him further down the depth chart.
This translated into poor playoff results over the past couple of years, to the point where he was nearly healthy scratched in the Stanley Cup Final. Given that he is being paid to be a top-pairing defenceman and was likely headed toward Edmonton’s third pair, a change of scenery was the best route for both sides.
When he steps back onto the ice at Rogers Place next season as a Shark, you can expect a rousing ovation from the Oilers faithful.