Oilers rumors: Edmonton spending ‘majority of time’ trying to trade Darnell Nurse

The Edmonton Oilers have had an eventful offseason, and it isn’t close to over yet. Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has requested a trade and could be dealt in the coming days. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun spoke about the urgency to get the deal done from Edmonton’s side.

What’s the latest on the Morgan Rielly and Darnell Nurse situations? #TSNHockey Insider @PierreVLeBrun joins @JayOnrait to discuss. pic.twitter.com/e9fDgXMi5D

— JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) June 25, 2026

“The Edmonton Oilers, I’m told, are spending a majority of their time trying to figure that out,” LeBrun said of the Nurse trade. “Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers a short list of teams to work with. I don’t know if that list needs to be expanded or not. But certainly, as of [Wednesday], I don’t think they’re anywhere close yet on a Nurse trade. But a lot of conversations happening on that front in Edmonton.”

Nurse was drafted seventh overall by the Oilers back in 2013 and has played 798 games with the organization since. That ranks seventh among all skaters and second among defensemen in franchise history. He was a key part of two runs to the Stanley Cup Final, but both sides have decided it is time to go seperate ways.

Nurse’s exit from the Oilers coincides with the arrival of Mike Babcock as the new head coach. That could make it hard for the Oilers to land anyone with a no-movement clause in a trade. If they trade Nurse for picks and prospects, another trade for a roster player could follow quickly. They cannot let cap space go unspent in Connor McDavid’s prime.

The San Jose Sharks traded away forward William Eklund for the ninth-overall pick earlier in the week. They still need a defenseman, but are likely to take winger Ivar Sternberg second overall. Could San Jose trade for Nurse? Or will they land Morgan Reilly from the Toronto Maple Leafs? Both Canadian powerhouses are looking to trade veteran defensemen, and they could get in each other’s way.

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