Progress on a Darnell Nurse trade just hit a wall. As Friday’s first round of the NHL Draft came and went, Nurse was not moved by the Edmonton Oilers. Even though trades were coming in fast and furious in the days prior, Edmonton was silent on day one. Rumors of Nurse to the Philadelphia Flyers or Pittsburgh Penguins amounted to nothing.
TSN insider Darren Dreger reported Friday that Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman has exhausted negotiations with all three teams currently on Nurse’s trade list, and with no deal in sight, the pressure is mounting on the 31-year-old defenceman to expand that list — or risk dragging this into the heart of free agency.
“There’s been a lot of pressure on Nurse to expand the trade market,” Dreger said, adding that neither side wants this situation bleeding into the summer. The Anaheim Ducks have been floated as a potential new destination, given that they will likely lose John Carlson, Radko Gudas, and Jacob Trouba. It’s unclear if Nurse is willing to broaden his list to include them.
The clock is ticking here, assuming Nurse has decided a return to Edmonton is not in the cards.
Nurse requested a trade earlier this month after the Oilers made it clear they wanted to move his $9.25 million cap hit — a number he carries through the 2029-30 season. He submitted a short list of three to five teams he’d waive his full no-movement clause for, with reports pointing to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as the frontrunners, with Nurse reportedly preferring the Flyers due to family ties in the area. Now it seems that these teams either see him as a backup plan or they’ve lost interest. It’s easy to assume they might be waiting to see what happens with names like Zach Werenski, Carlson, and others.
The Oilers’ leverage is shrinking by the day. They want this resolved before July 1, but they’re unwilling to take a bad deal or retain a bunch of salary to make this move. Edmonton currently sits with just over $7 million in cap space and still needs to address goaltending, defence, and forward depth before next season.
Nurse must either open the door to new teams — including cap-rich rebuilders like Anaheim and San Jose — or accept the possibility of returning to Edmonton for at least one more season. Given the Oilers’ win-now mentality under new head coach Mike Babcock, should anyone be shocked if a trade doesn’t happen?
It’s still expected to, but things are getting more complicated by the hour.
Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Ducks, Blues, Canadiens, Blue Jackets & Canucks
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