The Edmonton Oilers appear to have reached a crossroads with defender Darnell Nurse.
While it’s clear that both sides may want to explore a new arrangement, they have done a lot to put Nurse in a position to succeed. The NHL is not an easy league to play in, no matter what your skill level is.
However, according to a new report, the Oilers explored a trade involving Nurse before the recent Trade Deadline. This could potentially be revisited in the offseason. Here is the report on the Oilers & Nurse, as well as on three teams he could be traded to in the offseason.
Edmonton Oilers Interested in Trading Darnell Nurse?
The big report that has surfaced comes from David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, but the Edmonton Oilers discussed the possibility of moving Darnell Nurse,” Pagnotta wrote on March 8, 2026. “I can’t pinpoint how deep trade talks actually went, but that’s a name to watch this summer, NMC and all.”
Moving Nurse to another team is not an impossible venture. In fact, there are (likely) many teams that would like to bring him onto their bluelines to beef them up. Here are three potential destinations that make a lot of sense financially and personnel-wise: the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and the Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Nurse has played in 64 games during the 2025-26 regular season. In those contests, he has recorded 20 points while averaging 20:52 a night.
After this season, Nurse has four years remaining on his contract, which pays him $9.25 million per season.
Brad Treliving certainly likes adding players who bring snarl and grit to their play. Nurse is not avoidant when it comes to physical play, making him a fit from that perspective.
The Maple Leafs are projected to have $24, 772, 451 in salary cap space for next season. Working in Toronto’s favor is the number of contracts coming off the books this offseason.
Troy Stecher, Jacob Quillan, Matias Maccelli, Calle Jarnkrok, and Nick Robertson all come off the books.
However, it’s not enough to just have the money to acquire Nurse in a transaction. The Maple Leafs must have a spot for him, and that’s where things get complicated.
The Maple Leafs currently have Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit as their lefties on the blue line. All four of them have contracts that last at least until the end of next season.
Unless one of those four blueliners gets shipped off to another organization (or Edmonton), a trade with the Maple Leafs is not likely to happen.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings are a team on the rise. They have talented young blueliners, but could use a body like Nurse on their back-end.
When the offseason hits, the Red Wings are looking at $31, 655, 834 in salary cap space. That is more than enough to accommodate Nurse, especially if they move out one or two players.
In the offseason, Patrick Kane, David Perron, James van Riemsdyk, Travis Hamonic, Simon Edvinsson, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Cam Talbot will come off the books. Edvinsson is a prominent defense prospect who is blossoming into a reliable NHLer, so he will likely be retained by the Red Wings.
That would leave the Red Wings with Ben Chiarot, Albert Johansson, and Edvinsson as the left-handed defenders for 2026-27.
Even if they didn’t trade Chiarot or Johansson, the Red Wings could easily fit Nurse as their top-pairing left-handed defender. Alternatively, he could slot in on the second pairing with Justin Faulk.
However, adding Nurse would allow the Red Wings the freedom to trade Chiarot.
Nurse is more offensively gifted than Chiarot; he skates better and has better puck skills, while providing the same level of physicality.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are the last on this list of potential suitors for Nurse. The Eastern Conference squad will have $ 13,881,667 in available cap space when the calendar rolls over to the 2026-27 season.
Unfortunately, there are four lefties currently on the Canadiens blueline. They have Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj as their left-handed rearguards.
Lane Hutson is their primary offensive weapon and will be a staple of their power play for many years to come. However, Guhle could be a prime trade candidate, especially considering his injury history.
Nurse would be able to replace Guhle’s physicality, while bringing more offense and playoff experience to a blue line that could certainly use some.
With the rest of the regular season left to play out, there is plenty of time for Oilers fans to fantasize about a potential Nurse exit. Time will tell if it comes to pass.
3 Oilers Potential Offseason Trade Destinations For Darnell Nurse