Latest Trade Idea Sends Darnell Nurse to Boston for Young Defenseman

We all know that Darnell Nurse is not going to be an Edmonton Oiler much longer. The real question is where he will be heading for the next chapter of his NHL career.

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Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Jose have drawn the most attention — and rightfully so — as teams that can absorb some or all of Nurse’s contract and destinations the veteran defenseman may be willing to consider.

That said, until a deal is done, other teams can enter the mix, and a recent article from Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon pitched the idea of trading Nurse to Boston, potentially for Mason Lohrei.

Dixon wrote:

“Nurse for Mason Lohrei?

The latter has one year left on his deal, and his name popped up in trade speculation for much of next year. A swap like that would give Edmonton another big body back, and the Oilers could determine if they like what they see with one season left on the 25-year-old Lohrei’s contract before he becomes a UFA.

For the B’s, Nurse fits their tough-to-play-against identity and would give them another huge body to slot on their blueline with Nikita Zadorov. Boston has a decent amount of cap space and doesn’t really have any pressing contracts to get done this summer, so fitting Nurse in — especially if you’re deleting one or two smaller contracts in the swap — wouldn’t be much of an issue,”

The 31-year-old Nurse has four years remaining on the eight-year, $74 million contract extension he signed with the Oilers back in 2021. Meanwhile, Lohrei, 25, is entering the second and final year of the two-year, $6.4 million extension he signed with the Bruins last June.

Boston does love its big, physical defensemen, as Dixon noted, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them take a look at Nurse.

Lohrei is an interesting return piece for Edmonton to consider — a player the Bruins may view as expendable if they acquire Nurse, another left-shot defenseman to go along with Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Jonathan Aspirot.

It’s all hypothetical, though it does suggest the Oilers may have several viable options when it comes to what they could get back in a Nurse trade.

Next: Oilers “Really Like” 21-Goal Forward Who Is Likely Headed to Market