Was Darnell Nurse asked to waive his no-movement clause?

The image above is a reference to the song “Why You Always Lying?” by Nick Fraser, which gained notoriety as an internet meme in the late 2010s. Although there has been no confirmation as to what Nurse is referencing here, one can assume that he is taking a shot at Friedman’s report above. If that is indeed true, it would mean that either Nurse was not asked to waive his no-movement clause, or that he did in fact agree to waive it, and the team has just not been able to find a suitable trading partner.

It would be odd to make a post drawing light to your own lack of trade value, so the far more likely scenario is that Nurse was not, in fact, approached by Bowman to discuss a potential change of scenery. That said, rumours have been swirling, and Stan was not the one who signed this defenceman to his bloated $9.25M AAV contract. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a potential trade has at least been discussed by upper management, even if the player himself has not been involved in the process.

Is Nurse immovable?

Nurse is a serviceable second-pairing defenceman who has struggled to provide full value under the enormity of his contract. At a $9.25M AAV, the Oilers should, in theory, be getting top-pairing minutes from the player, but he has not been able to deliver that level of performance on a consistent basis. As such, Nurse has been quite a popular buyout candidate on sites like CapFriendly and PuckPedia over the years.

Unfortunately, for fans who wish to see Edmonton move on from this player as soon as possible, Darnell’s contract is littered with hefty signing bonuses, rendering it completely buyout proof. As mentioned previously, he also carries a full no-movement clause, which has prevented him from being waived and sent down to the minors (not that his play has ever warranted that kind of demotion).

Nurse’s contract converts to a no-move clause with a modified, 10-team no-trade clause prior to the 2027–28 season (likely on July 1, 2027). What this means is that although Nurse must still remain in the NHL, he is required to submit a list of 10 teams to which he would veto a trade. Once this has been finalized, the Oilers could, in theory, trade him to any of the remaining teams in the league not listed. Although this hinges on which specific teams are interested and at what price tag, there’s a relatively straightforward pathway to see the Oilers moving on from Nurse in the summer of 2027.

Ultimately, Nurse’s contract gives him the right to play hockey where he chooses. It’s easy to see why Nurse wants to be in Edmonton: he has ties to the city, close friends on the team, and is the core part of a winning environment. That said, the likelihood of Darnell Nurse finishing his career in Edmonton Oilers’ silks slowly diminishes with each passing day.