The Edmonton Oilers are stuck between a rock and a hard place on Darnell Nurse: 9 Things

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The Edmonton Oilers know what they need to do to this roster, to win.

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The problem is…some of it is beyond their control.

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That and more in this edition of…

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9 Things

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9. Veteran broadcaster Kevin Karius is retiring, having done his final regular show on Sports 1440 on Friday. The unrated station was smart to sign Karius up, as his heritage in the market and professionalism gave the frequency credibility at startup. Tom Gazzola is his replacement. Good luck to both.

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8. By Monday, the Oilers will have to at minimum qualify their RFA’s or risk losing them. I see real promise in Colton Dach and would be shocked to not see him retained. I am unconvinced of Spencer Stastney’s long-term value, but Edmonton spent an asset to get him, so I doubt he would depart for nothing. Owen Michaels would be a useful piece in Bakersfield.

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7. Earlier in the week I authored an article at The Cult of Hockey on which players I felt would progress or regress under the watchful eye of Mike Babcock. I went player by player. But as a generalization, I feel that most of the top guys will grow and expand their games. Tristan Jarry may benefit, too. Where I am less sure is with the younger set, like Matt Savoie and Josh Samanski.

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6. On one hand, I believe Darnell Nurse will fetch a better return on the trading floor than some think. But the market has a habit of changing without much notice, shifting the sand beneath the feet of the General Manager. And the development surrounding Zach Werenski in Columbus has surely done that. It immediately lessens Darnell’s value. We will get to Nurse coming up…

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5. A potential option for the Edmonton Oilers in goal is now off the board. The Utah Mammoth acquired RFA goaltender Sebastian Cossa from the Detroit Red Wings on Friday. The big tender had been blocked in Detroit at the NHL level but was excellent in the AHL. Before you get angry at Stan Bowman, Utah paid in-part with a 2026 first-round pick, something Edmonton simply did not have.

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4. Speaking of the draft, this version of the NHL entry draft (with the clubs attending remotely) was not nearly as good of television as it was before. There is no table-to-table drama, no G.M.’s roaming trade floor, all the things that made this such an entertaining spectacle. And especially as the draft wore on, the empty seats on the floor were glaringly obvious. Almost certainly cheaper to run, it looked that way too. And hey, this is not the league’s fault. Most of the owners wanted it. More on the Oilers’ draft in a minute…

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3. It was a substantial win for the Oilers to lock up both Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson prior to free agency. It was a solid piece of asset management by Stan Bowman, who spent valuable assets to acquire both. But I also believe that neither player had an equal among the available 2026 free agents. And I expect what would have been available may have cost even more than the $4m and $4.1m AAVs Edmonton ultimately paid. I know not everyone loved the term. But I would suggest if you don’t have sufficient cap room to help McDavid win in the next two years, the terms will not matter.

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2. Edmonton’s Director of Amateur Scouting Rick Pracey had an avail post-draft. I was a fan of the two-for-one swap in Round Two. It added a pick that had real value within the organization without sacrificing much at all in terms of the quality of player they were able to get. Rudy Berzkalns from Muskegon of the USHL is a very solid selection. Pracey describes the big Latvian Center as “raw” and “has tremendous upside, there is some growth there offensively that we believe in”. According to Pracey, it sounds like while yes Berzkalns has committed to Boston College in the NCAA, he will still get in another year of major junior first. Nice piece of work.

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1.It certainly feels as if the Darnell Nurse file is holding up the works. Stan Bowman needs to make some pretty specific decisions on this roster but has been held up by the indecision over Nurse. He has requested a trade which is his right. And we have discussed at The Cult of Hockey how a change of scenery may ultimately be the best thing for both the player and the club. But while Nurse is also more than entitled to choose where he would like to land, the team has a responsibility to not just give him away. And a three-team trade list (o.k., maybe it’s four, but one is a team I believe the Oilers would sooner not deal him to) makes it challenging. The smaller the field of competitors the more difficult it is for Stan Bowman to maximize the return.

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I have had the thought more than once that Darnell Nurse’s game could feasibly reach a different level on a Mike Babcock/D.J. Smith team. Nurse has great size, good experience, and elite skating ability that would be welcome on any roster. Those are not the problems. The issues are primarily three-fold:

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-One, Darnell Nurse has not played his best hockey at the most critical time. He has underperformed in three consecutive post-seasons. If he had not done that, we probably would not be talking about this.

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-Two, the contract. Through no fault of either Nurse (anyone would have signed that offer) or Stan Bowman (Ken Holland was G.M.), the player takes up $9.25m. Even with an expanding cap, that is a lot.

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-Three, even if Nurse did thrive under Babcock/Smith, he is still taking up the salary of certainly two, maybe even three roster slots. With his cap hit in place, the team has just $7.4m in room for 2026.

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That probably gets you one bigger piece and fills some much smaller holes.

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And does anyone think that would put this team in Stanley Cup territory?

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This article is not AI generated.

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Recently, at The Cult…

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LEAVINS: Big Latvian Center leads off the Edmonton selections on draft day

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STAPLES: Oilers select speedy Swede with their second pick

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LEAVINS: Oilers pick project D-man with third draft pick

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STAPLES: Oilers get Windsor winger with fourth pick

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STAPLES: Oilers grab a goalie with final pick

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Bruce McCurdy, 1955-2025.

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