This morning, word broke that the Edmonton Oilers are finished with Darnell Nurse.
Friedge claims in 32 Thoughts that Edmonton is making the 31-year-old defenseman leave Oil Country.
The nurse has the opportunity to collaborate with the group to plan a trade this summer.
If he doesn’t, Stan Bowman will simply wait for the no-movement provision to expire and move him on the terms of the club.
That is the leverage game. Allow us to assist you; otherwise, we’ll have to take the challenging approach.
The numbers make the choice easy to grasp. Nurse recorded a -12 rating and no power play points throughout the season after scoring 7 goals and 17 assists in 82 games during the regular season.
Stan Bowman cannot overlook the $9.25 million issue.
The genuine problem is that cap number. With a salary of $9,250,000 per year, Nurse has one of the top ten heaviest defender contracts in the entire league.
82 games with 24 points. At a top-pairing price tag, that’s third-pairing output.
Things were made worse by the playoffs. Anaheim will be played in six games. There were no goals, no assists, and he finished at +4.
He has no goals, no assists, or points in his last five regular-season matches.
Since 2013, Nurse has called Edmonton home. He had the C on. Throughout the McDavid era, he was the face of this blue line. But a 24-point season at $9.25 million is a number this organization simply can’t carry anymore.
The awkward reality is that his trade value may not match what Edmonton needs to get back.
Any team absorbing that contract wants a discount. A retained salary, a pick sweetener, something. Bowman is not negotiating from a throne here.
What happens if the market is cold? If no one bites at a reasonable ask? That’s the scenario nobody in that building wants to answer.
Nurse is heading into the final year of a deal that was always going to be difficult to move. The NMC gave him real protection for a long time. That clock is almost out.
Edmonton went 41-30-11 this season, 93 points, second in the Pacific. The Oilers need more from their back end than what Nurse gave them.
The exit is already decided. The only open question is whether Nurse gets any say in where he ends up.
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