3 Immediate Concerns Oilers Need to Address With Darnell Nurse Trade

The Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse have both agreed that it’s time to part ways. Following a report a few weeks back that the Oilers wanted to sit down with Nurse and guage his interest in waiving his no-move to facilitate a trade, it was learned on Thursday that Nurse has requested a trade, giving the Oilers three to five teams he’d be comfortable with.

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In some ways Nurse is doing the Oilers a favor. Instead of denying a trade and using his no-move protection to make life difficult, he’s decided it’s time for a fresh start. That gives the Oilers, at least, some flexibility to find a trade partner.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t concerns. This is not a trade the Oilers can get wrong.

Related: Darnell Nurse Requests Trade from the Edmonton Oilers

Concern 1: Don’t Underestimate Nurse’s Value

As popular X.com account JFresh writes, “I think Nurse has actually been pretty underrated since he signed his contract. Generally speaking he’s played second-pair calibre hockey in the past 5 years. He’s got weaknesses for sure and admittedly has struggled a lot in the postseason but he could probably be fine somewhere.”

Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 also writes, “Oilers need to make a smart decision when trading Nurse. Always available. Has only missed 18 games the past 9 seasons. Can log big minutes. Skates well. Is physical. Can chip in offensively at 5×5. He is 40th in EV goals and points among Dmen the past three seasons. He’s not a #1 Dman, but he has value. Oilers can’t afford another trade similar to Stuart Skinner.”

@bcurlock writes: “Darnell Nurse is a good NHL D. He got put in unfair spots early in his career. It impacted his development. He still had quality play with the likes of Ceci/Stetcher. His contract was an anchor not of his doing. If another team pairs him with a good RHD, I expect plus results.”

In other words, just because Nurse has agreed to a trade, it doesn’t mean the Oilers can ignore getting value just to have him moved.

There will be teams that see Nurse as more than the Oilers see him. And, it’s not like the Oilers don’t like Nurse. They simply don’t like his contract, which for a team like Edmonton that is close to the cap ceiling and looking for relief, isn’t as big a concern for other NHL clubs. The Oilers shouldn’t rush this. Talk to all the teams on his list. If there’s nothing there, ask him to expand it.

Concern 2: Don’t Anger Oilers Leadership Further

The leadership group in Edmonton isn’t going to love the way this all unfolded. While they’ll support Nurse’s decision to move on, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and others will all understand this could have gone down differently and one of the pieces this core really wanted to win a Stanley Cup with won’t get the chance now, at least not with this group.

What the Oilers can’t afford to do is give Nurse away and not get something of value back. They also can’t afford to treat him more poorly than they already have. If they give him away for nothing, McDavid and company will wonder what the point was. If you’re moving out one of the guys, you’d better be doing it with a plan in place that helps the team win.

Concern 3: Spend the Money Wisely

If the Oilers are able to most, if not all, of Nurse’s $9.25 million cap hit, that money needs to be spent well. Thus far, the Oilers haven’t exactly shown they’re good decision makers. When McDavid gave them the gift of his two-year extension, the Oilers spent money on Jake Walman, Trent Frederic, and other deals that don’t look good today. This can’t be a pattern that continues.

If the primary reason to trade Nurse is because he makes too much, the last thing the Oilers can do is bring in a player who is paid too much or hand over too large a contract in free agency.

Next: Eastern Conference Playoff Team Internally Discussing Darnell Nurse Trade