What can the Oilers expect from Darnell Nurse this season?

While the sample is small, there appears to be potential with a Nurse-Walman duo. Walman has better puck skills than Kulak, who can have difficulty playing on his backhand when he flips to RD, especially when he’s facing a heavy forecheck. While Stecher appears to have some chemistry with Nurse, it’s difficult to rely on him to play meaningful minutes deep into the playoffs.  I prefer the idea of giving a Nurse-Walman pair some runway this season, and the coaching staff appears to share the same sentiment.

“…the way that Jake moves around in the offensive zone with the puck, and he’s got a really good one timer, it’s nice to have him on the offside as a threat. So I think there’s a good chance that he and Darnell will be together,” said Stan Bowman back on the first day of training camp.

If Nurse can carry over the success he had with Walman last season, he could have a fantastic year. Achieving similar or better 5v5 numbers as last season would be a success. This time around, though, having a more consistent partner with whom he can develop chemistry over time would be ideal.

Nurse must improve on the penalty kill

Finding the right partner is only part of the equation. Another area where Nurse can make a real difference is on the penalty kill. The Oilers had a disappointing PK in 2024-25, finishing 21st in goals against rates at 4-on-5. Nurse was certainly not exempt from the struggles while down a man. No defenceman was on the ice for a higher rate of goals and shots against at 4-on-5 than Nurse.

This season, Edmonton will switch to a diamond formation, replacing their triangle-plus-one system. Will the change help the Oilers allow fewer goals against on the kill? There’s a good chance that it does. I’m skeptical that Nurse will be one of the leading players driving it, however.

He has never been particularly strong on the penalty kill, and he has some habits that a new system can’t fix on its own. For example, Nurse’s habit of dropping to his knees to block passes diminishes his ability to recover, a costly flaw on the PK where positioning and second efforts are critical.

Fortunately, I don’t think he necessarily needs to be elite in this regard. The Oilers rely more on Ekholm to play the top penalty killing minutes, while Kulak and Nurse split duties after he changes. A modest improvement in preventing goals and chances, closer to the team average, would be satisfactory enough for Nurse.

Nurse can’t afford to regress in the playoffs

A more consistent regular season from Nurse would be great, but his year will ultimately be defined by whether he can hold up when the games matter most. Earlier in his career, he had some good playoff runs, although most of them were short-lived. As the Oilers became a better team, going on deeper runs, Nurse’s game went in the opposite direction.

Since the 2023 playoffs, the Oilers have been outscored 55-41 in the postseason at 5-on-5 with Nurse on the ice. Without him, they’ve dominated their opponents 88-65.

Over their last three playoff runs, 11 defencemen have played at least 60 minutes for Edmonton. Only Ceci and Vincent Desharnais have worse goal shares than Nurse. These results are unacceptable for a player of his calibre.

If the Oilers are going to get over the finish line and win that elusive Cup, he will need to be better. For this to be a successful 2025-26 campaign, Nurse can’t get outscored and outplayed in the playoffs yet again. He needs to prove that the coaching staff can trust him in the biggest moments.

The Oilers need Nurse to be reliable

At this stage of his career, no one is asking Darnell Nurse to be the Oilers’ number-one defenceman. What they need is for him to stabilize the second pair, contribute more consistently, and most importantly, hold his own when the games matter most in the spring.

If Nurse can find chemistry with Jake Walman, clean up some of his PK troubles, and deliver a steady playoff run, Edmonton won’t just have a more balanced blueline — they’ll have a much better chance at lifting the Stanley Cup next June.