Grading the Oilers & Sharks’ Darnell Nurse Trade

The Oilers drafted Nurse seventh overall in 2013, and he carved out a solid career in Edmonton. He finished his tenure currently seventh on the Oilers’ all-time games-played list with 798, recording 88 goals and 324 points in that time. He also added seven goals and 29 points in 100 playoff games. The veteran blueliner was always among the team leaders in hits and penalty minutes. He had 725 penalty minutes as an Oiler. Unfortunately, his terrible contract was too much to overcome, and Edmonton desperately needed out of that. As a result, he was heavily criticized and needed a fresh start. Let’s grade this deal from both teams’ perspectives.

Sharks Added a Veteran Defenceman

The Sharks were extremely active on the first day of free agency. They signed forward Mason Marchment to a five-year deal, and defenceman Jacob Trouba to a four-year deal, before acquiring Nurse. They gained some much-needed experience on the blue line and became tougher to play against. A second pair of Trouba and Nurse should provide leadership and physicality. They also have Sam Dickinson, Dmitry Orlov, and Michael Kesselring on the back end. They solidified their defensive core with these moves and filled major holes in their lineup. They are nearing the end of their rebuild and should push for the playoffs this season.

However, they took on Nurse’s entire $9.25 million contract, while also trading away solid young pieces. The Sharks were in a position to take on salary, and they still have over $14 million in cap space. But they still need to lock down Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith beginning next season. Hopefully, this trade won’t handcuff San Jose in the coming years. Sharks’ general manager (GM) Mike Grier has had an aggressive offseason thus far and had a great draft. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of his better moves. He could have found a cheaper option elsewhere, without trading away Mukhamadullin and a prospect. They helped a division rival get out of a bad contract.

Sharks Grade: C-

Oilers Unloaded Nurse’s Entire Contract & Added Pieces

This was a fantastic deal for Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman. The Oilers unloaded Nurse’s entire $9.25 million contract, which still has four more years. They also added young pieces to the depth chart. No salary retention automatically made this trade a win for Edmonton.

The Oilers had a really thin prospect pipeline on the back end, especially on the left side. Beau Akey is their most notable prospect, but he’s a right-shot. Mukhamadullin is currently a restricted free agent (RFA), and he’s a big 6-foot-4, 201-pound, left-shot Russian defenceman. He replaces the size that Nurse provided. He adds depth on the blue line and can step in on the third pair and be a shutdown defenceman. He had five goals and 12 points in 50 games with San Jose last season, and has seven goals and 22 points in 83 career games. He has a hard shot and can occasionally chip in offensively.

Sharp is a 21-year-old left-shot defenceman who was a 2025 fourth-round pick. He played two seasons at Western Michigan University in the NCAA, recording 10 goals and 29 points in 79 games. The Oilers have limited assets, and Sharp could be used as a trade chip down the road.

At the end of the day, the Oilers won this trade. At one point, it was thought that Nurse had negative value and a deal likely wouldn’t get done without retention. It was also assumed that the Oilers would need to attach a sweetener for any team to take on his dreadful contract, which wasn’t the case. He’s severely overpaid for what he produces, but he clearly had positive value. Edmonton got out of this deal with more assets and cap space. They currently have just over $6.4 million in cap space with 14 forwards, six defencemen, and three goalies on the roster. They finally have salary cap flexibility. The Oilers still have room for one more impactful forward addition.

Oilers Grade: A

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