The ongoing saga that is the Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse could be nearing a conclusion.
Reports emerged over the last week suggesting that the current Edmonton defenseman had a list of three Eastern Conference teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers, as his preferred destinations.
However, the 2026 NHL Draft came and went with no news. But that could be about to change.
Boston Globe reporter Kevin Paul Dupont tweeted an interesting comment, citing that sources close to the matter suggest that the Oilers and Bruins could be down to a 1-for-1 swap involving Nurse and Mason Lohrei.
Seeing Lohrei’s name out there should not be a surprise. The 25-year-old’s name has been out there for a while now. The Bruins have tried multiple times to trade him, but the market has been icy at best.
Dupont’s comments suggest that there might be some sort of retention involved. Nurse’s cap hit is $9.25 million, with the Bruins potentially taking on $6.5 million. If that’s the case, the Oilers would retain about $2.75 million.
Such a retention wouldn’t be great, but it would be a heck of a lot better than holding onto Nurse’s full cap hit for the remainder of the contract’s duration.
As for Lohrei, the Oilers would be taking on his $3.2 million cap hit. The former second-round pick from 2020 is under contract for one more season. He will be an RFA at the end of the 2026-27 season, that is, unless The Oil extends him.
Oilers May Have to Settle for Underwhelming Return
Unfortunately, the Oilers are looking to move a distressed asset in Nurse. There really is no market for the 31-year-old due to his prohibitive cap hit.
Edmonton has been actively looking to move him, but only the Flyers seemed to have shown some lukewarm interest in the left-shot blueliner.
Beyond that, it doesn’t seem like anyone else would be willing to take on his contract. Perhaps with one or two years left on it, a deal would be much easier. But that is not the case.
That’s why it seems that the Oilers will have to settle for an underwhelming return, if it means getting out from under this contract.
Boston would seem like an interested party as they are looking to upgrade on the blue line. As such, landing Nurse for Lohrei wouldn’t be a bad proposition, at the right price point.
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Lohrei Would Be Looking for Fresh Start
For Mason Lohrei, this trade would be a sort of fresh start. The Bruins were high on him, potentially seeing him as a top-pairing partner for Charlie McAvoy. The organization gave Lohrei an opportunity to play a meaningful role while McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm dealt with injuries two seasons ago.
Unfortunately, Lohrei was unable to really step up. The Bruins still signed him to a two-year extension last summer. That deal is looking bad at this point, with the organization actively looking to move on from him.
The Oilers should represent an opportunity for a fresh start for Lohrei. He’d likely be a third-pairing option, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see the club give him a shot to reach his top-four potential.
Oilers Nurse Trade Could Be Down to 1-for-1 Swap