Ever since his $74 million deal was signed ahead of the 2021-22 season, Darnell Nurse has been criticized plenty and often by Edmonton Oilers fans. The 30-year-old is one of the highest-paid defencemen in the NHL, which is a massive overpay given that he isn’t even a top-two blueliner on his own team.
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Because of how ugly his contract is, Oilers fans have been praying for a way to get him off the books for several years now. Recently, many believed it may finally be happening, as a social media post, which has since been proven false, suggested that Nurse removed everything Oilers-related from his Instagram bio. Rumours shortly after started suggesting he may be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Tristan Jarry coming back the other way, though those were also baseless. What seemingly everybody forgets when it comes to Nurse is that he holds all the cards in whether or not he’s moved.
Nurse Has No Reason to Leave Edmonton
When Nurse agreed to his mammoth extension with the Oilers, his agent also made sure to land him a no-movement clause, which carries through the 2026-27 season before then turning into a 10-team trade list.
What this means is that until the 2026-27 season ends, Nurse has full control over his playing future. If he wants to remain in Edmonton, he will. If you’re in his shoes, why would you ever want to leave? He’s spent his entire career in Edmonton, has come up with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and there are few teams elsewhere that would give him a better chance to compete for a Stanley Cup. Unless he is really sick of playing for the Oilers, which seems quite unlikely, he won’t be going anywhere.
It’s an unfortunate situation as moving out his $9.25 million cap hit would do wonders for the Oilers’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup, as they could use that money to improve other pieces of their roster. That said, you can’t fault the player for taking advantage of the luxuries he was afforded in his contract.
For the time being, the Oilers will need to figure out other ways to free up some money in order to tweak their roster. They began doing…
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