The Edmonton Oilers should move on from Darnell Nurse

Edmonton Oilers fans and myself alike, are looking for the organization to make one trade and move on from this player, to free up even more in their cap space. Darnell Nurse, some of us want him to stay and some of us want to see him move on and play for a new team that is not the Oilers.

When Nurse was first signed by the Oilers in 2014–15, which was his rookie season, he would go on to play with the team for eight seasons, until he finally received his BIG payment. Starting in the 2022–23 season, Nurse was offered an eight-year deal, max contract, at $9.25M or $74M overall. At the time, he was the fifth highest paid defenceman based on AAV (Average Annual Value), behind Adam Fox, Zach Werenski, Drew Doughty, Rasmus Dahlin, and sitting at the top was Erik Karlsson.

Darnell Nurse’s NHL career before the big contract

From 2014–15 to 2021–22, Nurse played a total of 477 games and was able to produce 54 goals and 138 assists. That gave him 192 points across the 477 games and a 0.40 points per game average. Nurse isn’t known to be much of a goal scorer, which makes sense considering that he is supposed to play as a defensive-defenceman.

Averaging almost half a point per game is not that bad and is actually pretty good for a newer defenceman in my opinion. Nurse has definitely shown that he can put 20+ assists consistently, as he accomplished that five times in a row, 2017–18 to 2021–22. Receiving some production from a player of Nurse’s calibre, is something I’m sure that the organization was looking for from him.

His career during the eight-year deal

From 2022–23 to 2029–30, Nurse will be playing under his HUGE contract. So far in the first three seasons, he only missed seven games and played almost back-to-back complete years for the second time in his career. Nurse has played a total of 239 games and has produced 27 goals and 81 assists. That gives him 108 points through the 239 games and a 0.45 points per game average.

He is getting closer to finally surpassing the 0.50 points per game pace. When you look at his numbers and the contract that he is currently on, the organization and the guys who paid him what he is receiving, would definitely like to see him get up to the PPG pace and produce just a little bit more. On the positive side, Nurse has kept his 20 assist season streak alive and has now put up those numbers in eight consecutive seasons – 73% of his 11 year career.

Why the Edmonton Oilers should move on from Darnell Nurse

This is where things get tricky. I know that I just discussed Darnell’s career and what he has accomplished and been a part of as an Edmonton Oiler, but now it is time to look at why the team should consider moving on from him.

He costs too much

When we look at how much he is making right now, it is way easier to say that it is too much, compared to what it was when he first got this deal. $9.25M is a very high number when you look at his production. This contract still has him listed as the fifth highest paid defenceman in the league. Now he is behind seven players instead of five when he first signed this deal.

Too little production

In terms of production and the amount of points that he has put up in his career, I do not think that he has done enough in this aspect of his game. I understand that he is a defensive-defenceman, but the Oilers currently need more from what has been given—especially with what his contract is.

One too many mistakes

Finally, I personally think that we have seen a few too many mistakes from Nurse that have led to goals ending up in the back of their net. I am not the only one who has noticed that in parts of his game, but that needs to be cleaned up for their pursuit of a Stanley Cup. Edmonton will have a harder time when it comes to winning games, as this stuff is happening and Nurse is not the only player in my opinion, who has semi-affected the outcome of some of the games.

I looked at the stats from NHL defencemen this past season and there were a total of 39 players that averaged 0.50 points per game or better. All these players saw more point production than Nurse did, and he makes more money than almost all of them. Nurse is currently 30-years-old and has accomplished a lot in his career already. However, it may be time for him to move on and see if he can improve more, playing for another team.

There may be no teams willing to pick up him or part of his contract, but do you think that the Oilers should try and move on from Nurse before next season? Let us know in the comments.