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The Edmonton Oilers have a choice to make when it comes to Darnell Nurse
The Edmonton Oilers have a decision to make when it comes to the future of Darnell Nurse. With the NHL Entry Draft here, teams around the league are more motivated to make a deal than at any other time of the year. The Detroit Red Wings might have a shocking move in their back pocket while the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers explore their own deals.
Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Nurse has requested a trade out of Edmonton. At this stage of the summer, there are reports on his preferred destinations.
One of those destinations is the Philadelphia Flyers. NHL insider Nick Kypreos has recently reported that the Flyers are the top destination for Nurse.
“With a no-move clause, Nurse is in control of his destiny for one more year before his contract goes to a 10-team list,” Kypreos reports. “I’m hearing his preference right now is Philadelphia, where he has family ties to his quarterback uncle, Donovan McNabb.”
In the 2025-26 season, Nurse recorded 24 points in 82 games. He averaged 20:58 in ice time in addition to recording 164 shots while leading the Oilers’ blue line with 137 hits.
In addition to Kypreos’ report, Heavy Sports has learned that the Flyers are leading the Nurse sweepstakes.
The Flyers aren’t sitting on their laurels either. On Thursday, June 25th, they traded Garnet Hathaway to the Florida Panthers, clearing $1.2 million in salary in the process. The Flyers now have a little less than $34 million left to bring back free agents and add additional pieces to their organization.
Other sources have told Heavy that the Flyers are “looking at all avenues” regarding trades. Additionally, they are open to trading Rasmus Ristolainen. The Fourth Period has reported that the teams connected to Ristolainen are the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and the Oilers.
Could the Oilers and Flyers orchestrate a trade centered around Nurse and Ristolainen? It’s possible, but another piece would need to go to Edmonton to balance the scales. Could that piece be Owen Tippett? If it is Tippett, the Oilers would also need to sweeten their end of the deal to make it happen.
Another consideration is that the Flyers may want to make their own acquisition before executing a trade involving Nurse.
It’s a cliche for a reason, but “there are a lot of moving parts” certainly applies to this situation.
The Flyers aren’t the only team to have interest in the 6-foot-4 blueliner.
According to The Fourth Period, the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Los Angeles Kings are also interested in exploring a deal. Taking a brief look at these teams makes it easy to see why they would make sense.
The Sharks don’t have many defenders signed for the 2026-27 season. The Penguins make sense because Kyle Dubas had Nurse when Dubas was the GM of an OHL franchise. Additionally, the Kings’ current GM, Ken Holland, is the GM who signed Nurse to his current contract.
No matter what way you slice it, there is a very slim chance that Nurse is back with the Oilers for training camp. Right now, the Flyers remain the favorites.
It is shaping up to be a very interesting few months for the Oilers organization and their fans.
Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL, MLB, and Cricket for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney
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