The Philadelphia Flyers are interested in trading for Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, who has asked for a trade this offseason.
After weeks of rumors that Nurse may have played his game in an Oilers uniform, on Thursday, it became official when it was reported that the longtime Oilers defenseman has asked for a trade out of Edmonton.
Now the question is, where will Nurse end up?
Philadelphia Flyers Interested in Darnell Nurse
Nurse has a no-trade clause, so he will have to work with Edmonton to find a suitable destination, but one team that Nurse has mutual interest in going to is Philadelphia.
According to Flyers reporter Jackie Spiegel, there is mutual interest between Nurse and the Flyers in working out a deal. As the reporter notes, Nurse is longtime Philadelphia Eagle QB Donovan McNabb’s nephew, which could be part of the reason he has a mutual interest in going to Philadelphia.
“Per @FriedgeHNIC & @SportsnetSpec, Darnell Nurse has asked for a trade. I am hearing there is mutual interest between Nurse â nephew of Eagles legend Donovan McNabb â & #Flyers. But what would he cost? How much retention is EDM willing to take? And is there another move?” Spiegel wrote on her X.
Another Flyers reporter, Brandon J. Sommermann, confirmed that Nurse would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to Philadelphia is a trade is worked out between the Oilers and Flyers.
“Can confirm what Jackie is hearing that Darnell Nurse would waive his NTC for Flyers. But as she mentions, at what cost? Nurse count $9.25M against cap for next four seasons, that number will have to be drastically lower via EDM retention if PHI have any interest #IgniteTheOrange,” Sommermann wrote on his X.
What Would Darnell Nurse Cost in a Trade?
Nurse is a pretty good player, but the problem is his contract. He still has four years left at $9.25 million on his contract, which is a monster number for someone who is a second-pairing defenseman these days, not the top-pairing defender he was when he first signed the contract.
When the Oilers trade Nurse, they will likely have to retain part of his contract to make a deal happen, since he’s highly overpaid compared to his current skill set. While some fans have speculated that the Oilers may have to retain 50% of his deal, more realistically, something in the 25% range, which would knock his contract down to around a $7 million AAV, seems more realistic, with potentially some offsetting money going the other way.
The Flyers don’t have a ton of bad money on their cap sheet, though defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen and his $5.1 million in the last year of his deal may have to go back the other way to make the money fair.
The Oilers may also have to give up a draft pick or two as a sweetener for the Flyers to take on Nurse’s contract.
We’ll see where he ends up, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and it does feel like there is something real here between Philadelphia, Edmonton, and Nurse’s trade request.
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