Will the Edmonton Oilers miss Darnell Nurse? Chris Pronger thinks so
It remains to be seen whether or not the Edmonton Oilers will regret moving on from Darnell Nurse this offseason.
While Oilers GM Stan Bowman did some great work being able to move out Nurse without any retention on his $9.25-million cap hit, it also left a hole on the blue line that may be difficult to replace.
The Oilers signed Ryan Shea and brought in Shakir Mukhamadullin from the San Jose Sharks, though it remains to be seen if they can fill the void. After all, Nurse played a big role during his time in Edmonton, having averaged north of 22 minutes in ice time in seven of his last nine seasons.
While most of the fan base may believe it was the right decision to move on from Nurse, a former Oilers defenceman in Chris Pronger doesn’t seem so sure.
Speaking on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast, Pronger made it clear that he felt Nurse was a good defenceman during his time in Edmonton, but was criticized on a constant basis due to the contract he was handed by former Oilers GM Ken Holland.
“Right now, we’re going to see how Edmonton does without Darnell Nurse. He’s been out of favour there since he signed that big contract,” Pronger said. “While he may not have lived up to the salary number, he was an important piece.”
Pronger went on to explain that if Nurse was making just a few million less per year, he would have been viewed much differently by the Oilers fan base.
“If you had Darnell Nurse at six, six and a half [million], you’re not looking at him in that light, you’re looking at him like, ‘okay, we’re getting fair value,'” Pronger said.
“Sometimes our perception on players solely revolves on how much money they’re making, the biases we have for different things, players, styles of play and all the rest of that.”
After a disappointing 2025-26 season, the Oilers are expected to be a top contender coming out of the Western Conference in 2026-27. That said, Nurse’s absence on the back end may turn out to be a bigger issue than many believe it to be.
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