The now official Darnell Nurse trade request puts the Edmonton Oilers on the clock. The club will be looking to move to the 31-year-old defenseman this offseason.
His essentially untradeable contract makes moving Nurse’s contract tough. But there could be one team that might make it easier for Edmonton to make the deal happen. That’s the Philadelphia Flyers.
As insider Elliotte Friedman noted in the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Nurse would be interested in joining the Flyers.
“I believe the Flyers have interest. I’ve heard enough around the league to think they’re seriously considering it, and Philadelphia is a destination Nurse would be open to.”
The Flyers could be just the team to pull off a trade like this. Assuming things work out between the two sides, here’s what this trade could look like:
Flyers get:
Darnell Nurse, D
2027 fifth-round pick
Oilers get:
Christian Kyrou, D
2027 third-round pick
This trade idea hinges on numerous issues. First, since Nurse wants to go to an East Coast team, he would be waiving his no-trade clause to go to Philadelphia.
Second, the Oilers won’t be retaining any salary on Nurse’s contract. While there has been talk that Edmonton could retain something, this trade idea assumes that the Oilers will be shipping the full $9.25 million cap hit.
Third, the return is relatively underwhelming for Edmonton, considering that they would be asking the Flyers to take on the whole contract.
It’s worth pointing out that if the Oilers were willing to retain something, the asking price would be much higher. But the assumption here is that Edmonton wants to dump the entire contract. Hence, retention really wouldn’t be an option.
Oilers Could Get Much Better Return with Retention
So, could the Oilers realistically improve the price tag on Darnell Nurse if they retained? If the team were willing to open up the number of trade partners, retention would have to be part of the equation.
Definitely, 50% of Nurse’s contract would be a no-go. Additionally, a third party would not be willing to retain, even 25%, for four more seasons.
That situation means that retention on the Oilers’ part would have to come in around 25%, tops. In that event, Edmonton could extract potentially a mid-tier prospect and a depth piece. At the very least, the Oilers could target a depth defenseman while using Nurse’s cap hit to find a legit top-four blueliner.
At this point, getting a higher draft pick might not be in the organization’s best interest, unless it was a piece it could flip for another blueliner.
What to read next:
Flyers Have the Cap Space to Make this Trade Work
Assuming the acquisition cost wasn’t overly onerous for the Flyers, they have the cap space to make a deal like this work. Philly has over $37 million in cap space. That’s more than enough to fit Nurse’s cap hit, considering that the Flyers have two major RFAs to re-sign.
With the cap space the Flyers have now, and the cap going up in the coming season, this Oilers-Flyers trade pitch does have some legs.
However, it will all depend on just how much the Flyers are willing to pay for Nurse, and how low the Oilers are willing to go in their final price.
The coming days will be interesting on this trade situation. The Oilers would ideally want to get Nurse off the books ahead of the opening of free agency on July 1.
Oilers-Flyers Trade Idea Moves Untradeable Contract