Darnell Nurse Hit With Bad News After Oilers Trade to Sharks

Edmonton Oilers v Los Angeles Kings - Game Two GettyThe era of defenseman Darnell Nurse with the Edmonton Oilers officially came to a close earlier this offseason when he was shipped to the divisional rival San Jose Sharks.In return for Nurse, the Oilers received defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp, while also not retaining any of his $9.25 million salary cap hit.

However, in a recent ranking of the 10 worst contracts on the books in the NHL today, Oilers fan’s wont exactly be surprised to find Nurse’s name included.Former Edmonton Oilers Defenseman Darnell Nurse Named One Of The 10 Worst Contracts In The NHLAccording to a recent ranking from NHL Insider Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report, Nurse’s contract is one of the worst 10 in the NHL today. This isn’t especially surprising to fans of the Oilers, who knew that the eight-year, $74 million pact that he signed that takes him through the 2029-30 NHL season had the potential to quickly become a boat anchor.

Yerdon noted that Nurse’s style of play was never going to mesh with the high-octane offensive abilities of his now-former teammates in star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.“Unlike the previous Sharks contract on this list, the money involved in Darnell Nurse’s deal isn’t San Jose’s doing,” Yerdon wrote. “The Oilers signed Nurse to an eight-year, $74 million extension back in 2021 and set a standard for defensemen that helped raise the bar, contract-wise.

He’s been a steady two-way blue liner throughout his career, who suddenly became paid like a top point producer. Playing in Edmonton with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should’ve naturally led to more points, but that was never the style of game Nurse played.”Yerdon also notes that had Nurse not been signed to such an exorbitant salary cap hit, there’s a chance that he could actually still be playing in northern Alberta rather than having now been relocated to the Bay Area.

“Had Nurse not been paid so well, there’s a good chance he’d still be wi