Three Potential Trade Destinations For Oilers' Darnell Nurse

Darnell Nurse's time with the Edmonton Oilers should be coming to a close this off-season.

Nurse has requested a trade from the Oilers, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Mark Spector. Nurse reportedly gave the Oilers three to five teams he would be willing to waive his full no-movement clause to join. 

Nurse wanting a fresh start certainly helps the Oilers in their attempts to move him. However, with Nurse having a $9.25-million cap hit until the end of the 2029-30 season and coming off a down year, there are obstacles to any potential trade. 

Yet, with Nurse being a solid top-four defenseman who eats minutes and moves the puck well, he certainly has the potential to generate some interest this summer. This is especially so if the Oilers are open to retaining a bit of his salary. 

Let's look at three teams that could trade for Nurse this off-season following his trade request.

The Sharks not only have a lot of cap space but are also entering the off-season with four pending UFA defensemen. Veteran Dmitry Orlov has one year left on his contract as well.

They will need to improve their blueline for not just next season but beyond, and bringing in Nurse would help them do just that.

Nurse would slot in on the left side and log heavy minutes while Sam Dickinson, Luca Cagnoni and Shakir Mukhamadullin continue to develop. His puck-carrying skills should help the Sharks produce more scoring chances and improve on the 3.04 goals-for they averaged this season.

With 100 games of playoff experience, Nurse can help lead an exciting Sharks team on the rise as well.

Considering the Sharks made a push for the playoffs this year and have a very promising core, if they're not on Nurse's list of desired destinations, they should be.

The Penguins remain in a transitional period between the Crosby, Malkin and Letang Era and whatever core comes next. Kyle Dubas is trying to build the future without hurting the team's playoff chances.

Dubas has excelled at bringing in players who bounced back in Pittsburgh, such as Anthony Mantha and Yegor Chinakhov. He even acquired Brett Kulak in the Stuart Skinner and Tristan Jarry trade and eventually flipped him to the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline.

Nurse is no NHL youngster at 31, but he still has four years left on his contract and could be a great player to help tie one era with the next.

Bringing in Nurse should strengthen the left side of Pittsburgh's blueline, which consists of Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Girard and Ryan Graves. At the very least, he's an upgrade over Graves.

The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta also reported that the Penguins are on Nurse's trade list. With this and the Penguins' defense needing a boost, it would make sense for them to target Nurse this summer. Edmonton's ultimate goal is likely clearing Nurse's cap space, and the Penguins could get some other valuable assets if they weaponize their cap space.

Sticking in the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers are another potential landing spot for Nurse. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jackie Spiegel recently reported there is mutual interest between the Flyers and Nurse. 

The Flyers took a big step forward this season and have more than enough cap space to afford Nurse's contract if Edmonton offers some sweeteners.

There could be some competition on the left side of the blueline, with Travis Sanheim, Cam York and Nick Seeler under contract. But Nurse blocked more shots than any Flyers D-man this season, with 167, and when he is in form, he would improve Philly's depth as they prove their success this season was no fluke.

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