Edmonton Oilers
Insider Addresses the Smoke Around a Darnell Nurse Trade
Darnell Nurse’s name has been floating around the Edmonton Oilers’ rumor mill, so is there any validity to that chatter?
The Edmonton Oilers have been in the middle of a ton of trade rumors over the last few weeks, with a vast majority of them revolving around their search for an upgrade in net. That remains the case, though of late, there’s been more chatter about a position player potentially being on the move, and that’s Darnell Nurse.
Whenever discussions come up about the Oilers acquiring a big-ticket goalie, it’s often suggested that they flip Nurse in any deal to make the money work. Then came the wild trade proposal by Doug MacLean on the Real Kyper and Bourne Show, pitching Edmonton and Toronto to swap Nurse and Morgan Rielly in a blockbuster, further stirring the pot.
With all of that swirling around online, many began to wonder whether Nurse’s time as an Oiler could actually be nearing its end. However, it turns out that’s highly unlikely, as insider David Pagnotta shut the idea down during an appearance on Oilersnation Everyday on Monday.
“I haven’t heard that by any stretch they’re even considering that possibility right now. Usually, you get some kind of whisper of something of that magnitude coming out, and I haven’t heard that, not yet. So, I think it’s more because people are trying to connect dots and correlate one storyline to another, but I just don’t see a scenario where that’s realistic right now,”
The 30-year-old is in the fourth season of the eight-year, $74 million extension he signed with the Oilers back in 2021, which includes a full no-movement clause through the 2026-27 campaign.
Trying to Move Darnell Nurse is Complicated
While plenty of Oilers fans are sick and tired of the Nurse experiment, moving such a big contract with trade protection is way easier said than done.
If a move of this significance were to go down, it’s much more likely to happen in the offseason, which is when most insiders are saying Edmonton will be most aggressive in their search for a number one goaltender.
For the rest of the 2025-26 season, at the very least, the Oilers and their fans will just have to hope Nurse finds a higher level of play, because it seems all but certain that they’ll be stuck with him whether they like it or not.
Next: Latest NHL Trade Buzz: Canucks, Oilers, Blues
More News
