Former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse broke his silence after the Oilers traded him to the San Jose Sharks on July 1.
After months of speculation, Nurse finally waived his no-movement clause to join the Sharks in a trade that sent back to the Oilers Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zach Sharp. San Jose will eat the rest of the money on Nurse’s hefty contract, one that pays him $9.25 million each season for the next four years
Thus, Nurse’s 12-year run in Edmonton comes to an end.
Darnell Nurse Breaks Silence on Trade
Speaking to reporters via Zoom after being traded to the Sharks, Nurse reflected on his time with Edmonton.
Nurse said that he is grateful for his time in Edmonton, reflecting on what the city and community meant to him after being drafted seventh overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
“I had lots of good memories in Edmonton, but now that chapter closes. It was time for a change. It was just time. I had some deep roots, some great moments, a lot of great memories and friends. Some good experiences with the organization but everything has a shelf life and expiry date on it. This was my expiry date on my time in Edmonton,” Nurse said (via Edmonton Journal).
“I remember a lot of days when we were out of the playoffs by February and working to make ourselves a competent team and a playoff team. We worked our way into that team.Off the ice, I’ve had three boys, all of them born in Edmonton. I grew my family there. There are a lot of great memories in the sense of watching my family grow, watching the guys on the team grow, watching the city grow as a hockey market when the playoffs came back. A lot of great memories.”
Darnell Nurse Comments on Criticism From Fans
According to Nurse, he is excited to get a fresh start with a new team. He will now get to play with Sharks superstar Macklin Celebrini as San Jose looks to turn a page and become a contender in the Western Conference now that their rebuild is over.
Nurse is also excited to get away from the criticism he faced in Edmonton. While he knows that some of the criticism for his inconsistent play in Edmonton these last few years was warranted at times, especially due to his high salary, he also believes that he was unfairly blamed for the team not being able to break through in the playoffs and capture the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990.
“There is nobody who expects more of themselves than me. Joe from down the street can be mad because he can’t drink his beer and watch the second round of the playoffs, but I live with each and every game, each and every moment,” Nurse said.
“There were things, when you have a high cap hit, that were definitely warranted and my play warranted. And if you look, you could probably see a lot of things that weren’t warranted. But for whatever reason I was the problem.”
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