Darnell Nurse is the latest high-profile player looking for a trade this summer.
Nurse, 31, has a cap hit of $9.25 million for four more seasons. He has a full no movement clause currently in place, so he’ll have a say as far as where he is going to go. Friedman reported that Nurse gave the Oilers a list of 3-5 teams to work with, though those spots haven’t been disclosed at this time.
That might come out sooner or later, like the reported Dylan Larkin wish list of Vegas, Minnesota and Florida leaked out. Pittsburgh typically isn’t a destination for NHL players these days, it’s more likely than not that his first choice wouldn’t be the Penguins, though Edmonton could always approach him and ask for consideration – especially if his list is crowded with places that either might not want to and/or be able to acquire him.
A case for Nurse would be that he has some physical tools and a past history of strong play. He’s 6’4”, 215 pounds, can skate and move the puck well and be a force when he’s at his best.
The case against Nurse would be his age, contract and the fact he’s not always at his best (including 2025-26, which hasn’t made its way into the historic are of hockeystats.com yet). That’s a trio of factors that might cause limitations. At best, a team might hope for a Seth Jones-esque type of turnaround where a highly drafted and highly paid top defender languishes for a bit on one team and a trade helps spur improvement for a new club. Jones has better metrics across the board to suggest a higher ceiling of play in the first place, it should be noted.
Mark Spector wrote a little about the situation last week:
At age 31, hockey sense will go down as Nurse’s great weakness — wherever he ends up.
There are things he does well — he is an above-average skater, he can be intimidating when he chooses to play physically, and he averages about 35 points per season with almost no power-play time — but at age 31, Nurse will never overcome two things: his lack of hockey sense, and the eight-year contract with an annual average value of $9.25 million that he signed in summer 2021.
It’s not that Nurse can’t play, can’t keep up, or can’t help an NHL team in any capacity. He is ultimately tradeable as a left-shot defenceman who can eat up minutes, with a contract coming back to Edmonton that some other team wishes to shed.
But the issue is simply that, over 798 regular-season games (and another 100 playoff games), he has found his place as a No. 4 or 5 defenceman. Those roles call for a salary in the $4-5.5 million range at most.
The Penguins have a stated desire to improving the left side of their defense, but a limited player with a burdensome contract puts major factors into pumping the brakes. (Although Spector’s writing gives the idea that including Ryan Graves in a trade would ensure that at least the over-paid defenseman could be a lineup regular. Hey, summer is the time for dreaming..)
Nurse was a part of Team Canada’s recent World Championship team, a club that Jason Spezza and Kyle Dubas managed, so at the very least the Penguins ought to have a strong sense of where Nurse’s game is at right now and whether or not they would at least have some base of interest in him at this time. That added insight could easily lead them to not pursuing as much as it could have their curiosity piqued on if a deal could be made.
Ultimately, the Pens don’t fit a match to pay big bucks to a player for ages 31-35 that doesn’t figure to live up to the costs associated. As mentioned above, there’s also the matter that Nurse likely has selected other preferred locations – which might be a reciprocation of team interest in the case with Nurse. More than likely he will find his new spot somewhere other than Pittsburgh. Any player that pops up might be worth a quick session of wondering but this one could be fairly open and shut to move on until the next candidate comes along.
