Edmonton Oilers face mounting questions as Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million contract hampers team flexibility and on-ice performance. Can Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead the Oilers to glory when their second defensive pair routinely falters? The team’s repeated search for viable partners for Nurse spotlights concerns as he struggles to live up to high expectations, leaving Oilers management in a tough spot ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
Nick Zararis dissects Nurse’s declining efficiency, exploring how his ice time, defensive decisions, and shot selection are impacting Edmonton’s playoff push. Major topics include the Oilers’ cap space crunch, failed attempts to optimize defensive pairings, and the looming risk of burning critical assets on an immovable contract. Will the Oilers find a way out of this cycle before prime years slip away from McDavid and Draisaitl? Don’t miss this hard-hitting analysis of Edmonton’s path forward.
03:51 Darnell Nurse’s Contract Regrets
10:15 FanDuel Promo & Oilers Analysis
11:23 Darnell Nurse’s Inefficient Shot Choices
16:26 Darnell Nurse’s Performance Criticized
17:39 Oilers’ Survival Depends on Stars
22:04 “Beat Teams You’re Supposed To”
25:29 Oilers Stuck with Nurse’s Contract
28:52 “Winning with McDavid’s Prime”
PROBLEM: Darnell Nurse’s struggles and contract demand urgent roster changes
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46 Comments
Hes part of the reason why we havent win the cup
Oilers have completely confused in its planning for the year. This year will be a totsl failure. It won't be in the final this year. They need a lot of reshuffle to make it competitive again which can't be accomplished this year.
for the Dollar he is payed – Folks expect more !! -Simple
Bring back Stecher to help Nurse
So here's the thing. We have always had an issue with either him or Bouchard and it's seen every single game so this is nothing new!
Where did you get the hat?
If the Oilers knew Bouchard was going to be this good offensively. Fixed it for you.
One hit in the last three games.
And four more seasons AFTER this one.
Oil need to cut their losses with a constantly struggling Nurse as they were forced to do with Campbell. Very poor contract signings.
You cannot fix stupid, that's nurse. He's past his prime and as awful as he's ever been. Hope they buy him out, the only way imo.
If the player waives his NMC then he is tradable. There are teams near the floor of the cap who would appreciate his $9.25m cap hit and but only $7.25m cost. We would likely have to attach assets but would be worth it. It must be getting close to the stage where the player himself would appreciate a fresh start? He can still be a decent defence man for someone.
I think if every a-shole podcaster in the world kept saying how much I suck, what a stupid loser I am , how my contract is the worst in league history, how I’m dragging the team down the toilet, how I’m only here because McDavid likes me and how a bag of pucks is worth more than my life, that would probably effect my play.
Darnell’s play will improve
His wife just had a baby on Friday and I guarantee you he was still drunk when they played the sharks
Stanbowmen is the reason nurse got that contract
Friendship over Championships
Nurse was drafted to be another Chris Pronger type. He’s not aggressive as he used to be. He’s overpaid for what does. He needs a change of scenery.
I have never been a fan of Nurse. I just about hit the ditch when I heard he was signed for $9.25 m 😱 ( I was near Nisku on hwy 2 lol)
Why not just waive or buy him out?
Could they move him to a role as a forward and put someone more defensive in his current place?
my name is pierre duboeuf and i live in gatineau.
Move him to LW -4LW to start
Ya it's time to move on nurse. Been time.
If Darnell has become such a defensive liability, why not bench him to send him a message?
I doubt theyre able to move him, ive been saying for about s year they should try him at LW.
He no good here trade him he's not
You're totally wrong. His "friends" know who's the reason they can't win. They know. They see it. They're tired of it.
They are trapped and don't want to be the one to say it but they all agree nurse is the reason they haven't won
endless run of bad GMS might help in the situation we are in
Nurse: big ego, low self esteem. His hockey IQ is low. It’s like the oilers are short handed when he’s on the ice.
Everyone outside of the fan base has been saying this for the last 3 years…and now the team an fan base are just coming to this conclusion 😂
GET RID of THIS SLUG !!!!!!!!!!!!!
They have had a nurse problem for 5 years just no one wants to talk about it. Larsson left because he didnt want to carry Nurse for half the pay.
Getting Awkward because I have been saying its a major problem for years . I kept hearing you apologise for his bad play .
Breaking news, the sky is blue
9.25 USD in Canadian which is 12.5 CAN that’s freaking crazy. He’s not anywhere worth that amount of money.
Ove this call BTW you nailed it but where was this statement last year and the year before . He has been a Minor league caliber player for 4 years.
I've never wanted to see a player go away so much
I knew when his contract was signed it would be an anchor the oilers would never recover from.
I had some friends try to convince me that he earned that deal by taking back to back bridge deals at a discount… but I knew he should’ve been making 6.5 at most and if you reward the guy for “taking less” with 9.5 per year it definitely shouldn’t have been the full 8 years.
Would’ve rather they kept the trend of bridging him with 2-4 year deals based on performance…compensating him on years where he exceeded expectation. We could be reevaluating his value and renegotiating his contract or trading him if management at the time realized he’s just not that guy pal.
As someone on the outside of the Oiler world, I would say this looks like a case of DPS (Dion Phaneuf Syndrome). Maybe you can get the Maple Leafs to do something REALLY dumb.
Connor McDavid’s choice to take a pay reduction to open up Cap Space for his Team The Edmonton Oilers. So perhaps Connor needs to have a chat with Darnell Nurse.Please no confusion,I like Darnell Nurse, but he needs to take a pay cut to help his TEAM!🥊
Edmonton doesn’t have the sweeteners to get anybody to take Nurse.
Bad defense means our goalies look worse and vice versa.
Oilers management has failed to give nurse a capable partner. walman looks like hes forgotten how to play hockey
Nurse is a large part of the oilers decline along with goaltending and 3 rd and 4th lines. Bench him, if that doesn’t bother him, Edmonton, you have a problem. McDavids discount hasn’t helped so maybe management too. A huge waste of McD and Drai.
Trade Nurse for a good goalie ❤❤❤
Hahahahaha.
Sign Bobby Bouchaise / Happy Gilmore for $10m. That'll show the jerks who think Nurse is way overpaid who's the boss.
6th most expensive D line in NHL.
~7th most goals against.
ITS NOT THE GOALIES. It's a team sport. For every goal, rewind and see where D (or F3 forward) either missed, or was out of position to allow a good pass to ANOTHER missed cover.
Are there seriously professionals in the organization? The 80's called, they want their Oilers back.
Nurse has under performed for years now and the 9 mil contract is killing the oilers cap! Nurse would be ok at a much lower rate to the point where oilers could trade or send down to the minors. He needs a kick in the ass big-time. The cap has been such an a chilies heel for years. My guess is he'll get traded as soon as possible. The oilers need to move on!
Nurse is terrible now. Time has caught up to him quickly