On Thursday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has requested a trade and has provided the Pacific Division club with three to five teams he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for.
In a recent article for The Fourth Period, David Pagnotta reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings are among the clubs that Nurse is willing to accept a trade to.
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“As per sources, TFP has learned the Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings are two teams he would be willing to sign off for, and the connections seem clear as to why,” Pagnotta wrote.
Nurse reportedly being willing to accept a trade to the Penguins is definitely interesting. The 31-year-old defenseman would have the potential to provide the Penguins’ left side with a boost if acquired and could work well in their top four.
Nurse would be more than a rental for the Penguins if acquired, as he has a $9.25 million cap hit until the end of the 2029-30 season. That is both a lot of money and term for the veteran defenseman, so there would certainly be risk in the Penguins acquiring him.
However, with the Penguins needing some help on the left side of their blueline, perhaps a Nurse deal could make sense if Edmonton is willing to retain some salary and the cost to acquire him is not high. Despite his expensive deal, he is a solid top-four defenseman and could be a nice veteran for the Penguins to have around. However, there would also be less risky defensemen for the Penguins to bring in to improve their left side.
In 82 games this season with the Oilers, Nurse recorded seven goals, 17 assists, and 24 points.
