The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly ready and willing to trade veteran defenseman Darnell Nurse as soon as they are able in order to free up significant cap space.
Nurse is currently in the middle of an eight-year, $74 million contract (with a $9.25 million AAV) that runs through 2029–30. He holds a full no-movement clause for the upcoming 2026-27 season, giving him full control over any potential deal.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman plans to meet with Nurse in the coming days to discuss his future. While the organization is pushing for a trade, they will respect Nurse’s wishes if he prefers to stay for another season.
During a recent segment on the 32 Thoughts podcast, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed the Oilers’ position on the veteran defenseman, indicating that the organization is putting serious pressure on Nurse this offseason.
“The thing about Darnell Nurse is he’s a year away from his no-trade clause going from a full to a partial, and it’s clear [the Oilers are] going to say to him, ‘This is the last year you have control. Do you wanna work with us or not?’”
Former NHLer shares his thoughts on the scenario if Darnell Nurse gets traded
In a recent episode of the Oilers Now podcast, host Bob Stauffer questioned whether there would be real interest from other teams in trading for Darnell Nurse.
Former NHL player and analyst Brian Lawton shared his thoughts on the scenario if Nurse were to be traded:
“100% I could. Yes, there are no-trade clauses and no-movement clauses and things like that. And you respect it for a player because they generally have earned it. And I don’t have any problem with that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t agree with a player that it might be better for them if they got traded.”
Darnell Nurse holds a full no-movement clause for the upcoming 2026-27 season. This gives him complete control, meaning the Oilers cannot trade him without his explicit approval.
Drafted No. 7 overall by the Oilers in the 2013 NHL draft, Nurse has been with the team for 12 seasons, accumulating 324 points through 88 goals and 236 assists in 798 career games.
Edited by Abhishek Dilta