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A trade idea between the Edmonton Oilers and the LA Kings involving Darnell Nurse could actually work for all sides.
There could be an interesting suitor for Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. With his trade request becoming quite overt, The Oil will need to find an organization willing to take on his massive contract.
One such organization could be the LA Kings. The team’s GM, Ken Holland, knows Nurse very well from his days as Oilers GM. As such, there is a real connection between Nurse and Holland.
That situation prompted legendary hockey journalist Jim Matheson to propose a trade idea that would send Nurse to Tinseltown. When looking at the idea itself, it might not be that crazy after all.
Oilers get:
Darcy Kuemper, G
Trevor Moore, F
Kings get:
Darnell Nurse, D
Quinn Hutson, F
Holland would trade for Nurse in heartbeat for his weak D. Not moving Laferrière but you can bet GM would move G Kuemper. If Oilers could get Kuemper (1 yr left at $5.25m) to tag-team Jarry and winger Trevor Moore (2yrs at $4.2m) might that work? Toss in W Quinn Hutson to LA
On the surface, the idea might seem a little out there. But when breaking it down, the proposed trade could actually help both sides.
Let’s start with the evident part. Nurse, and the totality of his cap hit, will head to LA. The Kings desperately need D, particularly with the aging Drew Doughty heading into the final year of his current contract.
There’s no telling if Doughty would return following next season. Assuming he doesn’t, Nurse would become the team’s top blueliner.
The Oilers would land former Vezina Trophy nominee Darcy Kuemper. The 36-year-old netminder lost his starting job in the playoffs to backup Anton Forsberg. As such, it’s fair to question if Kuemper could be in the Kings’ plans following his lackluster season this year.
Kuemper would be a stopgap solution in goal at best. But the prospect of having Kuemper team up with Tristan Jarry has to be better than some of the other options out there.
The Oilers have a little over $14 million in cap space. But that’s considering that forwards Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen, Adam Henrique, and Jack Roslovic are all set to become UFAs. In that event, Edmonton will need to replace some of the lost production.
Hence, adding Moore and his contract at $4.2 million AAV could deliver some secondary scoring. However, some may question whether sending Quinn Hutson to the Kings would be foolish. The 24-year-old Hutson scored 30 goals and 63 points in 67 games with the Bakersfield Condors last season.
So, why not just promote Hutson to the NHL? That’s a fair argument. But it would seem that Hutson might be the cost of doing business in dumping Nurse’s contract on someone else. At least getting Moore back would help deliver some offense.
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Ultimately, the reality is that the Oilers can’t expect much from a Darnell Nurse trade. The public trade request has already zapped most of Edmonton’s bargaining power. There’s also the matter of Nurse’s no-movement clause. That’s another thing that would undermine the organization’s chances of getting a decent return.
That’s why this proposed trade, as bad as it might seem on the surface, is actually about as good as the Oilers can hope for. Given the circumstances, the club could do much worse.
Nestor Quixtan Seasoned NHL and NFL analyst and baseball writer focused on covering clubs across each league with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor's singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. Nestor's fondness for baseball, football, and hockey set the tone for his love and passion for writing about sports. More about Nestor Quixtan
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