Just days ago, the Edmonton Oilers traded longtime defenseman Darnell Nurse, who had been a part of their Stanley Cup Final-appearing teams in 2024 and 2025, to the San Jose Sharks, keeping him in the Pacific Division.
However, it turns out they nearly shipped him to the Eastern Conference to the Boston Bruins, but that what would have been a blockbuster deal between the two Conference rivals fell apart because one of the principal pieces of the trade nixed it with the use of his no-trade clause.
According to NHL Insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Bruins were going to send defenseman Nikita Zadorov back to the Oilers in return for Nurse, but the former exercised his no-movement clause.
“David Pagnotta reports that Boston & Edmonton had a trade in place to send Darnell Nurse to Boston. A player that was part of the deal heading to Edmonton exercised their no trade clause and vetoed the deal,” Oilers Hub posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Boston Bruins Reportedly Nearly Traded Defenseman Nikita Zadorov
According to longtime Bruins Insider Jimmy Murphy, there was “smoke” surrounding Zadorov.
“I reported on The Sick Pod NHL last week that there was chatter the Boston Bruins were listening on Zadorov,” he wrote. “I was unable to confirm it through agent or team sources, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Meanwhile, Bruins Insider Eamonn McLean stated his belief that Zadorov may have actually “saved the Bruins from themselves”.
“If this is true I think Zadorov saved the Bruins from themselves,” he wrote on X. “His contract is very reasonable for what he brings, and I think his style of play is a perfect fit here. I wouldn’t trade him unless it’s an offer you can’t refuse and I don’t see much realistically available from Edmonton that I couldn’t say no to.”
Nikita Zadorov Is Coming Off His Second Year In Boston
Zadorov was taken by the Buffalo Sabres with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, and he would spend the first several years of his career with the club, though they were never able to attain a postseason spot.
In a cruel twist of irony, Zadorov and the Bruins were eliminated by the Sabres in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring, the first time that Buffalo had advanced beyond the regular season since 2011, two years before Zadorov was even drafted.
During the 2015 NHL Draft, Zadorov was traded along with Mikhail Grigorenko, J. T. Compher and the 31st pick in the draft to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn.
After several years in Colorado, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Anton Lindholm in exchange for Brandon Saad and Dennis Gilbert.
Since then, he’s spent time with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. He’s appeared in a total of 804 career NHL games, and has scored 53 goals with 137 assists for 190 points. He’s also contributed eight goals and 12 assists in 84 career games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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