Edmonton Oilers want to trade Darnell Nurse away this summer: report
The clock appears to be ticking on Darnell Nurse’s future with the Edmonton Oilers.
There has been a ton of speculation about whether or not the Oilers could be preparing to move out the veteran blueliner this summer. Reports hit last month that GM Stan Bowman attempted to trade Nurse to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the latest trade deadline, and there have been whispers that Edmonton would be open to moving him this summer.
That seems to have been confirmed by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, who reported on Thursday that the Oilers would like to trade away Nurse this summer.
The 31-year-old defender has a full no-movement clause and four more seasons left with a $9.25 million cap hit.
“Sources confirm that Oilers GM Stan Bowman will be speaking with Nurse in the coming days about his wishes,” Spector wrote. “Two sources have told Sportsnet that the Oilers’ preference would be to move Nurse before the start of next season.”
The holdup on a potential Nurse trade is the fact that he would need to agree to waive his NMC. That means that the longtime Oilers defenceman holds all the cards and will be able to dictate where he plays the upcoming season.
However, that control is set to loosen up as soon as next summer, when his trade protection will shift gears to a modified no-trade clause where he can submit a 10-team no-trade list. This will be Nurse’s last opportunity to truly decide where he wants to go.
Things have not worked out between the Oilers and Nurse over the past couple of seasons. Despite being paid like an elite top-pairing defenceman, the Ontario native has instead slipped down the ranks and has been more of a four-or-five guy on this Edmonton squad.
Spector also mentioned that Nurse was very close to being scratched during the team’s 2024 Stanley Cup Final series due to poor play, but they opted to keep him in the lineup to avoid distractions. That disappointing play has followed Nurse in each of the last two playoff runs as well.
Getting out from under Nurse’s expensive cap hit would allow Bowman to make significant upgrades to other parts of the roster and would help give the two sides a fresh start away from each other.
Nurse is one of the longest-tenured Oilers, having been a regular on the Edmonton blueline since the 2015-16 season. Only Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have been with the Oilers for longer.
It’s been a long road for Nurse, but his time in the Alberta capital seems to be coming to an end.