It looks like Jason Gregor, who works closely with the Oilers, isn’t happy with how defenseman Darnell Nurse is playing and he isn’t shy about explaining his thoughts on his podcast focused on the Oilers.
Nurse’s skills aren’t improving as the season goes on. I haven’t noticed Darnell Nurse getting better in his game, and I doubt he will. He does some things well, but he struggles to control the pace of the game and make smarter choices with the puck, even with his experience. He doesn’t need to make perfect choices—just better ones.
– Jason Gregor
“There hasn’t been much growth in Darnell Nurse’s game. He just can’t seem to slow the game down to make better decisions with the puck”. – @JasonGregor #LetsGoOilers @OilersNation
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— Sports 1440 (@Sports1440) February 3, 2026
The NHL All-Star break usually signals the unofficial halfway mark of the season. But since the Olympics are happening this year, it feels more like we are about three-quarters into the season. It’s a good time to look at how players have been doing so far.
For Gregor, Nurse’s performance has been getting worse, particularly in the last six weeks, which he points out. The stats for the defenseman back this claim up.
Natural Stat Trick shows that the Oilers struggle more defensively when Darnell is playing compared to when he is not. The team’s defense improves by 17% when he is off the ice.
Many have noticed ongoing problems like panicking in his own zone, failing to clear the puck, and not managing space well when stopping fast breaks. This has put him in the top 20% of NHL defensemen for turning the puck over.
Even though he still has impressive skating speed and a powerful shot, his expected goals against and overall goal share have reached the lowest points of his career. There are reports showing a 36% difference in goals scored against him at even strength, and his penalty killing has been getting a lot of criticism lately, leading to a team penalty kill percentage of just above 70%.
Some of Nurse’s struggles might be due to the fact that the Oilers don’t have a true right-side defenseman in their top four. This is an area that Edmonton should think about improving before the trade deadline.
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