Darnell Nurse vs. The Oilers: Revenge Game or Just a Reporter Feud?

Darnell Nurse’s first game against the Edmonton Oilers hasn’t been played yet, but he’s already made it a storyline.

Ahead of facing his former team, the Sharks defenceman took a verbal swing at Sportsnet and Oilers reporter Mark Spector. Asked, “What’s the biggest difference that you’ve noticed so far playing in a California market from where you grew up in this league?”..., Nurse took a second, looked up at Spector and said, “You know with my low IQ I don’t know if I’m able to answer your questions.” Spector laughed it off, but Nurse wasn’t done, saying the questions were “a little bit above my head.” Then he paused, looked right at Spector, and said, “Next!”

The clip spread quickly, and reaction was split. Former Oilers forward Evander Kane, who has feuded with Spector, replied with a laughing “Nursey!” Some fans quickly sided with Nurse, taking aim at Spector and his questioning style. 

Others thought it was a bad look. Author Rob Soria wrote, “Sorry but Nurse sounds like a baby. As per usual, doesn't accept his piece in his struggles.”

What’s intriguing is that Spector never actually wrote that Nurse was dumb. He said Nurse’s hockey sense was a weakness in his game, not that he had a low IQ.

In a column weeks before the July 1, 2026 trade, Spector reported the Oilers had been open to moving Nurse since the summer of 2025. He questioned the defenceman’s “hockey sense,” citing a former Oilers coach who pointed to costly reads with and without the puck. 

In one section of an article Spector wrote, he noted that the Oilers considered making Nurse a healthy scratch during a playoff game but elected not to, since scratching a locker room leader in that way might cause more of a stir than the Oilers wanted. The coaching staff simply lowered his ice time. 

Spector's piece was hard, but it wasn’t the only critical piece about Darnell Nurse. The defenseman became a regular topic among Edmonton-based media because of his inconsistent play and his hefty contract. Clearly, the Oilers saw it too, as they were about to ask him to waive his no-trade clause for a second time before he beat them to it this offseason and requested a trade. 

Since hockey IQ and general IQ aren’t the same thing, why did Nurse take it so personally?

In his final seasons, Nurse felt like he’d been made the team's scapegoat. It was a tough place to be and, to be fair, his contract wasn’t his fault. The Oilers walked themselves into a hefty extension by bridging him twice, then extending him when the price of minute-munching defensemen had spiked. Anyone in his situation would have taken the deal. 

He simply had a hard time living up to it. 

One could argue that only now, as NHL salaries are spiking again, is Nurse worth $9.75 million per season. Some will contend he still isn't. Nurse felt that pressure. 

During an interview on the Mitts Off Podcast:

“I mean you also have to take a lot of stuff with a grain of salt, like sometimes I feel like I’ve been blamed for everything from a goal against to the traffic on Stony Plain, right so like it’s just you have to be really cognizant of what the pressure you put on yourself.” 

Only Nurse didn’t take things with a grain of salt. He was frustrated. In that room, talking with Nurse after games, you could tell the defenseman was often deflated and bitter. His answers were short; his body language was terrible. This past season, I wasn’t part of many post-game Nurse interviews where I left thinking Nurse was happy to be part of what was going on in Edmonton. 

If and when the Oilers lost, it was like you could sense that Nurse saw us all, including Spector, coming from a mile away. 

When the Oilers and Nurse parted ways, I wasn't at all surprised. 

Everything about Friday's exchange points to his frustrations with Spector (and, indirectly, other Edmonton media members) boiling over. The fact that Nurse responded to a question about playing in California in this manner suggests Nurse had this quip planned. It wouldn’t have mattered what Nurse was asked; he believed a jab was coming, and to Nurse, a knockout response was long overdue.

That said, I don’t believe this frustration extends to his former teammates. His target was one reporter’s coverage, not the Oilers, his old coaches, or his friends who still play for the Oilers and are trying to win a Stanley Cup. His shot at Spector was sarcastic, closer to a mic drop than a meltdown. He got in his two cents, and whether it helped or hurt remains to be seen. 

Spector may write about it. He may not. 

But, by most accounts, Nurse still misses the players in that Oilers dressing room. It’s the Edmonton media he doesn’t miss.

A first game against your old team is rarely routine, and a little extra edge wouldn’t surprise anyone. But, this isn’t a “revenge game”. Nurse might have something to prove to fans and media who pointed fingers in his direction, but his old teammates know what he was and what he contributed as part of the Oilers. 

Nurse got his shot in at Spector, and he took it. Don’t expect him to take the same shots at his old team. 

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