The Detroit Red Wings have plenty of cap space this offseason and could afford to take on a bad contract to add talent to their roster.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Red Wings acquire Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers.
Red Wings acquire:
- Darnell Nurse
- Matthew Savoie
- 2027 first-round pick
Oilers acquire:
The proposed deal would be intriguing as the deal is Edmonton clearing Nurse’s salary while the Red Wings acquire a young prospect and a first-round pick. In return, the Red Wings give up Holl, who can replace Nurse on the backend and is in the final year of his bad deal.
The Red Wings would acquire Nurse, who has five years left on his eight-year, $74 million deal. Nurse is making a ton of money and his name has come up in trade rumors if Edmonton is looking to clear cap. The Red Wings have cap space, and Nurse would upgrade their blue line. He recorded 5 goals and 28 assists for 33 points in 76 games.
The Red Wings would also acquire Savoie, who was drafted ninth overall in 2022. Savoie can be a middle-six forward for Detroit next season. He had 19 goals and 35 assists for 54 points in 66 games in the AHL last season.
In return, Detroit would trade Holl, who’s entering the final year of his three-year, $10.2 million deal. Holl would replace Nurse and would save Edmonton some cap space to add some more talent to the roster. Holl recorded 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 73 games.
Insider Expects Red Wings to Take Big Swings in Offseason
Detroit has missed the playoffs in nine straight seasons, and general manager Steve Yzerman has said he will be aggressive this offseason.
However, NHL insider Frank Seravalli believes Yzerman can’t just be aggressive but needs to take big swings to end the Red Wings’ playoff drought.
“They desperately need to. Kane and [Vladimir] Tarasenko – they’re nice pieces, but those are final pieces of the puzzle that you stamp in there to help get a team from the conference final to winning a Stanley Cup,” Seravalli said on DailyFaceoff Live on June 18. “They are not “drive you through the regular season and wedge you into the playoffs” players. Beyond that, Detroit significantly needs upgrades on their defense. They have to go out and fix that this summer or else you can cancel their playoff plans before the season even starts.”
Detroit enters the offseason with just over $21.3 million in cap space, so the Red Wings have room to make a big move.
Insider Doubts Oilers Will Move Nurse
Nurse has one of the worst contracts in the NHL, and his name has come up in trade rumors.
However, Oilers insider Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic claimed Nurse is unlikely to be traded.
“No, he’s not perfect, but Nurse was much improved this season — perhaps having his best NHL campaign. Be annoyed all you want about his contract, but a full no-movement clause means he’s going nowhere,” Nugent-Bowman wrote.
Nurse has spent his entire career in Edmonton after being drafted seventh overall in 2013.
Trade Idea Sees Red Wings Acquiring $74M Star Defenseman in Cap Dump