Four potential – Darnell Nurse’s disappointing 2023-24 season and $9.25 million cap hit have put him squarely into trade conversation, with four plausible landing spots highlighted: the Penguins, Bruins, Jets and Sharks.
When Darnell Nurse looks at Edmonton right now, he seems to sense the same thing the Oilers are working toward: a change could be best for everyone involved. That idea is only getting louder after a season that left Nurse with 24 points and a minus rating for the first time since 2019-20.
Nurse’s case has never been about subtlety. The 6-foot-4. 215-pound defenceman has played 79 post-season contests since the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs—more second-round outings than every blue-liner in the league except his own teammate. for now. Evan Bouchard. who has 81. and Brett Kulak. who has 88 after going to the Western Conference Final with Colorado this year.
But big-game experience doesn’t automatically translate to value on the cap. Coming off the lowest points total of his career since 2017-18. and carrying a $9.25 million cap hit. the fit has become harder to defend. If Edmonton is serious about moving him, the price likely isn’t just talent—it’s salary. At minimum, the Oilers might be asked to retain part of his cap hit. Recasting Nurse as a $7-million defenceman with four years left on his deal is the kind of shift that can quickly lift interest around the league.
With that in mind, here are four potential destinations where Nurse’s size and experience could land him in a role that better matches his current price tag.
Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the first names on the list, and the connection is real. Nurse played for Penguins GM Kyle Dubas when Dubas was general manager of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds in the first half of the 2010s.
The timing in Pittsburgh is complicated. Many pegged the Penguins for the basement this past season, yet they finished second in the Metropolitan Division. Their challenge now is that the roster feels like it’s approaching a what-now moment. with veterans Erik Karlsson. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin either nearing the end of contracts. careers or both—while the franchise doesn’t appear to be treating Sidney Crosby as a near-term exit. noting he’s “starting to feel like he’s going to play five more years.”.
The blueline is in flux, too. Beyond next season, nobody is signed except Letang and Ryan Graves, leaving open space for a stabilizer. The argument for Nurse is straightforward: he could help steady the defence through the transition, as Pittsburgh turns toward the next generation.
Any swap would also make sense for Edmonton in another specific way. Ryan Graves is under contract beyond next season. but the hypothetical return is tied to a different timeline: the piece mentioned here is Tomas Lohrei. who has one year left on his contract. His name has popped up in trade speculation throughout next year. For Edmonton. a swap involving Lohrei would also allow the Oilers to evaluate what they have with a season left before he becomes a UFA.
Boston Bruins enter the conversation with a different kind of appeal. Nurse would fit their tough-to-play-against identity, and he’d add another huge body to a blue line that already includes Nikita Zadorov.
The Bruins also come with flexibility. Boston has a decent amount of cap space and doesn’t have pressing contracts to get done this summer. That matters because Nurse’s acquisition might be easier to structure if the trade involves moving one or two smaller contracts alongside him—an approach that would keep the math manageable.
Then there’s Winnipeg, approached more like a contingency plan than a dream landing. The idea begins with the Jets’ search for answers at 2C. If Winnipeg can’t find that ideal solution, the logic becomes to double down on defence by adding Nurse as an over-qualified third-pair option.
That would also be a practical fit for the group already taking shape in Winnipeg. Nurse could slot beside Elias Salomonsson. a right-shot defenceman who is expected to miss a bit of time at the start of the year due to shoulder surgery. Nurse’s presence could help shore up the minutes during that window.
The Jets’ current back end has the opposite profile in one key way: they’ve had the bruisers on defence before—Jacob Trouba. Ben Chiarot. Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers—but the present group is more mobile than muscular. Winnipeg’s defence corps is led by Josh Morrissey. Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo. and Nurse would bring the heft the roster currently lacks.
Finally, the San Jose Sharks offer a tempting “size-first” angle after a recent move. On Wednesday, the Sharks acquired a big, right-shot defenceman, Michael Kesselring, from the Buffalo Sabres.
Could San Jose double down on size by making room for Nurse too?. The path is at least numerically plausible. San Jose has only two defencemen under contract for next season—Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson. both of whom played at least 70 contests for the squad last year. Even with big extension discussions on the horizon for Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. the Sharks could try to squeeze Nurse in on a reduced cap hit.
If the Sharks keep Kesselring and Orlov in the right-side roles, Nurse could line up on the left. Over time, the plan would lean on youth and progression: the expectation is that Nurse could work his way down the pairs while Dickinson, who is 20, and others continue their climb.
Nurse’s trade value may rise or fall on one clear variable—how his cap hit is handled. But across Pittsburgh, Boston, Winnipeg and San Jose, the common pull is the same: size, big-game experience, and the kind of defensive presence that can change how a team feels when the playoffs arrive.
Darnell Nurse Edmonton Oilers trade destinations Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Bruins Winnipeg Jets San Jose Sharks Kyle Dubas cap hit Evan Bouchard Brett Kulak Michael Kesselring Elias Salomonsson Tomas Lohrei