What Are the Oilers Trying to Accomplish With the Darnell Nurse Trade?

The Edmonton Oilers are going to sit down with defenseman Darnell Nurse and talk about a possible trade. If he’s not open to the idea, the Oilers will welcome him back. If he is open to it, the team will try to get a deal done before the start of the 2026-27 season. The conversation shouldn’t be too tricky if GM Stan Bowman focuses on the money side of things, the need to improve the roster, and how moving Nurse will help. But is that what Bowman is really trying to accomplish?

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Some believe a Nurse trade is all about the salary cap hit. His $9.25 million is clearly a concern, particularly given his inconsistent production. That said, Nurse is a suitable top-four defenseman, and if moved, there will be a hole to fill. A trade to dump his cap hit isn’t as simple as it sounds.

First, it’s not a given that a team will take Nurse’s full cap hit with no strings attached. There are clubs like the San Jose Sharks that clearly need a defenseman. But, is anyone open to adding his contract without moving money of their own? If not, that means the Oilers won’t get the full relief they might be looking for.

How much money the Oilers need to take back should and will determine their motivation to trade him. If it’s $1 million, that’s not a big deal. If it’s $4 million, that’s another story.

Second, if a sweetener is required to make the deal work, there’s a line the Oilers must draw in the sand. At some point, moving on from Nurse becomes less about the trade and more about the sacrifice needed to make it. It’s important to remember that Nurse is a good defenseman. He’s a solid one on a championship-caliber team. He’s simply overpaid. That doesn’t mean moving him should come at any expense. If the goal of the Oilers is to move on, fine. Bowman can’t give away the farm to do it.

What If Nurse Has Trade Value?

Third, are the Oilers trying to make a hockey trade? Some believe Nurse still has value. If so, throw the first two concerns out the window. The trade becomes about what the Oilers can pluck from a team that wants Nurse. Can Edmonton get a serviceable player back? Specifically, would they be able to trade a D-man for a less expensive D-man? What if their priority is a depth forward? If Nurse agrees to a move, Bowman’s job will be to assess the value of his player and get the most in a trade he can. The hope is that multiple teams see Nurse as worth something and a bit of a bidding war (with reasonable expectations) begins.

There will be teams that toy with the idea of Nurse. He’s fast, he can agitate. He can provide offense. His hockey sense is his biggest weakness, but when he’s on his game, he’s quite good. All it takes is two teams to see him as a good fit.

This is now the second time that the Oilers’ asking Nurse if he’d be willing to move has become news in Edmonton. Nurse is one year away from his no-trade clause going from a full no-move to a partial no-trade. This is the final year he’s got control over where he goes. Perhaps that plays into all of this. “You can work with us this year, or we’ll do it on our own next year,” Friedman believes the Oilers will tell him.

The coaching situation may also factor into all of this. Friedman thought a trade like this might only happen after a new coach was hired. Now, that’s not necessarily the case. The Oilers are ready to move on regardless of the next bench boss.

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