After years as a blue-line fixture, the veteran defenseman is ready to move on. Following a fractured relationship with management, Darnell Nurse aims to control his exit via a targeted shortlist.
Darnell Nurse is ready to move on. Elliotte Friedman broke the story on Thursday that the defenseman has asked for a trade, and Darren Dreger followed it up with more news, noting that a list was submitted about a week ago, and Nurse is ready for a fresh start.
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This has been a tumultuous summer for the Edmonton Oilers. First, they telegraphed a move for Bruce Cassidy as coach, only to be shot down by the Vegas Golden Knights. Then they fired Kris Knoblauch when that news got out. Edmonton pivoted to Miek Babcock, only to learn that the NHL is conducting a full investigation into his tenure as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets (and maybe farther back) and now the team and one of their core defensemen are heading for a divorce.
As per Friedman, " Last week, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported the Oilers would like to trade Nurse, and, according to multiple sources, the defenceman recently went to the organization and said he would like to be traded. He now feels it is time for him to move on. " This comes after it was brought to his attention last year that the Oilers were thinking about moving him and had hoped he'd be open to waiving his no-move clause.
It's one of those, when you're told enough times you're not wanted, you take the stance that it's best to control your own narrative and ask out.
Maybe this is best for all parties involved.
The leadership group was a proponent of keeping Nurse. It would have upset players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to see him go. Now, with Nurse initiating the move, this won't be a situation where things would potentially get contencious if traded. His friends want what Nurse wants. If that means leaving, they'll support him, which while it might annoy the stars it came to this point, can be put behind them rather quickly.
The question now is, which teams of the 3-5 he's listed will come to Edmonton with offers they deem acceptable? Will it require retaining salary? Will they have to take a bad contract back? Or, might they need Nurse to expand his list?
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