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Why the Oilers 'must' trade Darnell Nurse

Nairavoice · Jun 10, 2026 · 2 min read

Why the Oilers ‘must’ trade Darnell Nurse originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Darnell Nurse isn’t going to be easy to trade.

But the Edmonton Oilers “must” find a way to do it anyway, writes Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin in a new article on Wednesday.

Simply put, Nurse’s contract is too large.

Yes, that could make him tougher to actually get rid of to another team. But it also means the Oilers can’t really afford to keep him.

“The Oilers simply must find a way,” Larkin writes. “They barely have the cap space even to re-sign the UFAs and maintain status quo on a roster Connor McDavid called ‘average,’ and the goal is to get better.”

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Nurse has a $9.25 million annual cap hit through the 2029-30 season.

Yeah, that’s a definite yikes.

The Oilers will certainly have to retain some of that salary in a trade, but getting any amount off their books is helpful, and the max a discarding team can retain in a trade is 50%.

“The Oilers have to consider anything that improves their Stanley Cup chances across McDavid’s two-year contract,” Larkin writes.

Nurse does have a no-movement clause. Larkin wonders if that might not be an issue anyway.

“Nurse would have to waive his NMC for any deal, of course, but after more than a decade in Copper and Blue, might he want a respite from the pressure cooker anyway?” Larkin writes.

Nurse’s name is going to be one of the most common in trade rumor headlines all offseason until something happens. And if no moves are made involving the veteran defenseman, it might be a very bad sign for the Oilers’ future.

He’ll likely be grouped often with Dougie Hamilton, another veteran defenseman. Hamilton’s cap hit is $9 million.

Both of them are likely overpaid, but that’s no matter to their current team. At some point, Edmonton (and New Jersey with Hamilton) will have to do what it takes to get a deal done.

For the Oilers, that means getting rid of some of Nurse’s salary so it can be spent better elsewhere. It’s something they have to take a quality swing at, because they can’t afford to whiff.