Last week, it was reported that veteran defenseman Darnell Nurse requested a trade from the Edmonton Oilers, and he included a list of 3-5 teams he'd be willing to move to. As also reported earlier, one of those teams is, allegedly, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And it appears that the two sides have been active with one another. 

On Thursday, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta reported that Pittsburgh and Edmonton are discussing a trade to bring Nurse to the Penguins, noting that Oilers' GM Stan Bowman and Penguins' GM/POHO Kyle Dubas wouldn't rush a move and that it could happen by the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on Jun. 26-27.

"Pittsburgh may be No. 1 on Darnell Nurse's list of five teams he would waive for, and the Penguins and Oilers have been discussing a potential trade," Pagnotta said.

On the surface, it's hard to imagine that Nurse, 31, would be the type of player - and, defenseman, in particular - Dubas and the Penguins are looking for this summer. Nurse is owed $9.25 million through the end of the 2029-30 season, and he has a full no-movement clause through the end of the 2026-27 season.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound left blueliner has quite underperformed his contract in the past couple of seasons. He registered seven goals and 24 points to go along with a minus-12 and 104 penalty minutes in 82 games last season, and he posted no points in six playoff games.

Dubas has stated his desire to target mid-late 20-something players who can help the team take big steps toward sustainable contention beginning next season, and Nurse doesn't exactly fit that bill. Even if Nurse isn't as mediocre a defenseman as some think he is - this is a case of a player being mostly fine but far overpaid - he is prone to mistakes in his own zone, and the lack of a steadying presence on the Penguins' right side to complement him is certainly concerning. 

So, all that said, is there any real potential for upside if Nurse is brought to Pittsburgh?

"Upside" might be a bit of a strong word. Even if Nurse manages to play pretty well for the Penguins, it still may not be worth taking on that albatross contract for four more years, especially when that cap could be used elsewhere toward another more talented and dynamic player. In addition, the Penguins may not be cap-strapped now, but if some of their young players such as Rutger McGroarty, Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke, and Sergei Murashov pan out, they're all going to be due for hefty extensions during those four years. 

Also, even if there's retention, the chances of another team taking on Nurse's contract in a trade down the line is unlikely unless he experiences a major revival in Pittsburgh. 

However, there are a few logical reasons why Nurse might make some degree of sense, even if he's not the ideal player for the Penguins to bring in. 

For one, the Penguins need left defensemen. Maybe not in the Nurse mold, but, period. If they can somehow get Edmonton to take on the contract of Ryan Graves in exchange for Nurse, they are giving a guy a second chance elsewhere in both directions, and if it doesn't work out, it will be the same situation as Graves where they'd just have to find a way to bury or offload a defensive contract. 

In addition, Nurse's cap hit - especially if there's retention - really isn't a pressing issue for the Penguins. Yes, it's true that it may be hard to trade him down the line if he flops, but, again, burying him shouldn't be a problem if it really comes down to it. Per Puckpedia, they still have more than $37.8 million in cap this summer and need to get to the floor, they're projected to have $87.2 million next summer (which doesn't include possible extensions for Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson), and $116.25 million in 2028-29. 

At the end of the day, Nurse really may not be the entirely futile option folks make him out to be. Even if he's not a top-pairing defenseman - and even if he's overpaid - he's still a serviceable NHL defenseman, and he's another veteran mentor on the left side. If Nurse made $4 million less, and he was playing on a middle or bottom pairing, he would probably be a fair-paid contributor for his team.

So, should the Penguins decide to trade for Nurse, it wouldn't be the end of the world. They could make it work, and he could be a serviceable blueliner for them. They just need to make sure that they don't budge on the acquisition cost and don't give up much at all to take on his contract, perhaps even sending another like Ryan Graves' over to Edmonton in the process. 

There is a way for a Nurse trade to benefit the Penguins, but they would be best-advised to do business carefully here. They shouldn't give anything of higher value up to acquire him, and Dubas should not waver on that.

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