Since the day Evan Bouchard passed Darnell Nurse as the ‘heart of the order’ defensemen, we knew this day would come. Stan Bowman has an opportunity to show what he can do in the trade market, and the Oilers have a chance to improve the team if cards are played right. Please read this.
Teams that have been mentioned early as possible destinations include the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers. Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. We all have our own views on what a trade should look like, and for me cap room is king in this deal. If the Oilers could trade Nurse for no cap return, that’s a helluva day. It’s also unlikely to happen.
So, let’s take a different approach. We don’t have Michael Parkatti’s brain and we don’t have the statistical information he would have access to, but we do have Puck IQ and a working knowledge of things like Fenwick, Corsi Rel, and looking things up (often incorrectly called research). What if we went looking for the good Fenwicks on defense from players on the clubs above, paying special attention to cap commitment?
- Nick Seeler (PHI) 34 pct v elites, 52 DFF Pct, minus .4 rel
Seeler is 33, his cap hit is $2.7 million and there are two years left on his deal. He can defend, is reliable, and could slot on to the third pairing immediately. If the Oilers made that kind of a deal, the team would upgrade a roster spot (Spencer Stastney could be the No. 7 D) and have plenty of walking around money. I think it’s the kind of deal we’ll see. I’d love something more (as mentioned in The Athletic article) but unless a team like the Canadiens go wild (that is possible) and offer Kaiden Guhle, cap room is probably the biggest get on a Nurse trade.
On the Lowdown today, our feature guest will be Steve Lansky from Inside the Truck podcast. Well talk Nurse trade, Babcock situation, Hart Trophy and the state of Staney Cup Final coverage in our nation. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
What’s the ideal outcome for the Edmonton Oilers’ offseason?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7351209/2026/06/12/edmonton-oilers-darnell-nurse-mike-babcock/
LT, I find your advocacy for a MacT return behind the bench to be a fascinating one. I always liked him as coach; the 2006 run earns him the benefit of the doubt. Still, in a league that keeps bringing guys back for another coaching gig, does MacT’s lack of NHL head coaching jobs since he left the Oilers tell us something?
MacT can’t really see the game on the ice from behind the bench anymore. I was talking with him during one of the meet and greets and he was asking me to read the score for him for one of the games that was playing on a nearby television. No way that you can coach like that.
Get the man some Lasik and yer golden.
Or some bifocals…
Heaven forbid he only had his reading glasses on him. I do agree he’s an interesting analyst and I wish he would do more because I really like his take on things. In saying that Craig is 67 I don’t think he could take the wear and tear of a 82 game plus schedule. Babcock is 63 besides the list of other reasons get someone younger hungrier someone with vision beyond one year.
See if Alexei Mikhnov is done with his glasses. It’s MacT’s turn with them.
— Babs and MacT so he can get the pulse of the team behind the bench after an almost 20 year hiatus …
— I didn’t think there would be much in off-season activity but now there is a lot …
Im bringing back my “what will the Oilers do this off-season” poll: most right get a PayPal contribution to the fine blog:
1) who is the head coach next year?
2) what team is Nurse on next year? (Bonus if you name player(s) returned)
3) what is the opening day goalie tandem?
4) who is the biggest new acquisition/ free agent signing as measured by AAV, excluding Nurse return
5) Murphy, Dickinson. Henrique, Roslovic and Kapenen: which ones are re-signed ?
6) Who is the Oilers first draft?
7) Is Coffey behind the bench again?
best to just answer :
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
so I can tabulate. I’ll run for a few days.
1 – Cassidy (I’m ever the optimist)
2 – Philly (Nurse, 2028 1st, Ike Howard for Owen Tippett)
3 – Jarry/Cossa (yay Oil Kings!)
4 – McMann (5x5ish)
5 – Murphy, Kapanen re-signed
6 – Zac Olsen (no. 82, after 2nd rounder + traded for Cossa)
7 – No
1 Cassidy
2 Pittsburgh
3 Jarry-Cossa
4 a bottom 6 with bottom 4 ability on D
5 Murphy Kapanen
6 A D-man from the WHL.
7 No
1 Todd Nelson
2 SJ (Colin Graf)
3 Jarry/DiPietro
4 McMann
5 Murphy, Kapanen
6 Becket Hamilton7 No
1) Cassidy
2)Philly (Cates)
3) Jarry/Cossa
4) Murphy (maybe Kulak)
5) Murphy and Kap
6) No idea
7)Zero chance
1) Babcock (sigh)
2) NYR (Nurse $1.25M retained+2028 1st+Howard for Trochek + 2026 3rd)
3) Jarry / Ingram
4) McMann ($5.5M)
5) Murphy Kapanen
6) Jaxson Cover (they like their Knights)
7) No
Drai McDavid Hyman
McMann Trochek Savoie
Podz Nuge Kap
Dach Samanski Frederic
Jones
Walman Bouch
Ekholm Murphy
Shea Emberson
‘1. Mike Babcock
‘2. New Jersey (Brenden Dillion & Simon Nemec)
‘3. Montembeault & Ingram
‘4. Gallagher 6.5m
‘5. Murphy & Kapenen
‘6. Adam Andersson
‘7. No
1- Babcock
2- Philly- Tippett
3- Jarry + Bobrovsky
4- Bob
5- Murphy, Dickinson, Kapanen
6- Ethan MacKenzie
7- Not this time
1) Babcock
2) Tampa – Nick Paul
3) Jarry / Cossa
4) Darren Raddysh
5) Only Kapanen $2.5M x 3
6) Daxon Rudolph – traded Savoie to Seattle
7) No
1) Anyone but Babcock
2) LAK
3) Jarry / Ingram
4) they wait until October
5) Murphy, Kapenen
6) no idea
7) No, unless the new coach is new to NHL head coaching
Since Batman is calling all the shots:
1. Babcocks son with Mike handling the team building sessions
2. SJ – Dealing with Grier brings good karma
3. Cossa and Brossoit – Oil Kings forever
4. Brent Burns – 4X4 – More vet presence – he’s due for a cup
5. Coffey becomes AGM, Lowe takes over as GM – Forensic audit says there was something in the water
Is MacT healthy enough to coach? He will be 68, and he looks it.
!) Hire Cassidy
2) Re-sign Murphy
3 Find a deal with Philly surrounded by Nurse and Cates/Seeler – not sure how much to retain and what to add.
4) Re-sign Ingram or find a deal for Cossa that does not include Howard.
I am going with “ideal” but within the realm of reasonableness.
Nurse & 3rd rounder to Philly for Couturier. The the third would be to offset the $1.5M difference on the cap hit. Oilers would have their legit 3c, Flers have lots of cap space
to obsorb Nurse’s cap hit.
Cates or Couturier?
Cates is younger and a lower cap hit. I just figured the Flyers would be more open to moving out Couturier with no retention.
1) Bruce Cassidy
2) PHI in exchange for Emil Andrae
3) Jarry & Dipietro
4) Anders Lee (5.5mil x 2)
5) Murphy
6) RW Jonah Sivertson
7) No
If / when nurse gets traded who are some names out there that could replace him?
Preferably a left shot, big, good skating, physical, tough, can fight , can play 25 minutes a nite, mostly healthy, signed for a at least a few more years, good character, playoff experience.
I wonder? Hmmm?
Walman
LA is rumoured to be on Nurse’s list.
If Kenny Holland’s phone isn’t ringing off the hook, Bowman should be fired.
What does Holland expect to get Nurse for free?
Yes, Pit and LA cited as 2 of the teams.
Sounds like he wants to go east but LA is one of the western destinations he may be cool with due to management.
I’m still looking at Philly who wants to get on his list (per Friedman).
Awesome
With the cap going up I can see why a skilled durable minute munching Nurse would be attractive. I think he has a hell of year if he goes East (fresh start) The trade needs to be money out with 5-6 million coming back on a player and contract we desire. If happening last year I do believe Seth Jones and Nurse was a wash. With the Cap going up I do believe Nurse has more value as player and team first guy. There should be no retention in this trade unless it’s a 3 team trade. Nobody saying Bowman and company can’t get creative.
If you can divest yourself of Nurse, the Oilers’ main target should be Darren Raddysh.
Most Oiler fans have been assuming we re-sign Connor Murphy, but if you’ve got the bucks I say aim higher for an elite puck-moving second pair.
How? No deal involving Nurse will be for pure cap space, even assuming retention.
The Oilers already have $16M in cap space. They could do it.
Murphy will sign
Nurse was overpaid after a contract year but had a bit of a track record.
Raddysh had a contract year unlike any other year or opportunity.
As most of the analysts say, that could be a great signing, but it could also end up being worse than Nurse. Projections are 8+ mil, he won’t take a discount to come to Edmonton, and any retention on Nurse means you’re sinking more money into 2 LD
Also, does a Walman-Raddysh pairing make sense?
Or Walman-Bouch and Ekholm-Raddysh?
A Walman-Murphy pairing makes more sense and will save you 3-4 mil to upgrade a top 6 F/3C.
Also, LT says goalies are voodoo. I also think non-elite D are voodoo. Under the right coach and system, some excel, some wilt. See: Kulak, Brett.
If the number one area for the Oilers is reducing goals against, Im not sure the Nurse trade is the correct answer. It is the exciting answer because of the potential upgrades, but the potential upgrades might be underwhelming.
We are preaching defence, so put money into defence.
Murphy played originally with Jake Walman and the results were poor. To be fair Walmans health was questionable. (I think)
When Murphy was paired with Nurse the results were very good, including running into the playoffs.
If I was to sign Murphy and know I had Ekholm – Bouchard and then Nurse – Murphy with both pairs winning their respective goal share, that is very, very encouraging.
Trade Walman and his 7M
Third pair you have Emberson plus find a verteran partner
Regula and Stastney
When a player publicly asked to be traded you want to accommodate him out the door. Nurse has been a true Oiler soldier since he was drafted grant the man’s wish.
They have to try now, and it wasn’t Nurse that initiated this. That’s why he wants to move on. The fan stuff is one thing, when the team is also after you….
I know but it’s out in the open the core is getting broken up. Bowman chose this path he has to call in a marker and make this trade happen for player and team.
Murphy is a real risk. He played okay for us, but he had fallen down Chicago’s depth chart. He is also 33. At that age, you never know what you’re going to get.
This is my take on Murphy as well.
Murphys risk is all downside. We can hope that the cliff comes in 3-4 years but it may come next year.
A player like Kesslering the risk is him not reaching his upside. Or that his upside comes too late.
Id prefer to risk that upside for kess not happening as opposed to hoping to delay the downside of Murphy.
Only a friendly deal between ex-GM and player wink-wink-nod-nod should have been discussed before the Nurse sandstorm. Murphy’s half way through the back nine of his career if the Captain can take a hometown discount to win a Cup so can a stay at home D like Murphy.
If you are an NHL team looking for a defenceman; who would you rather?
Darnell Nurse 2M retention so 7M cap
or
Jake Walman at 7m cap
For me I’d far rather have Walman.
Health being a concern though.
I hope other nhl teams would want nurse.
Nurse. Walman’s injury history is a risk
Walman. He might only play 65 games but they will be better than Nurses 80 games. Walman can actually pass the puck. A skill that Nurse never developed.
Walman, when healthy, would be pretty unanimous.
Walman, when unhealthy, should be on IR
Not a GM in the league would take Walman under those circumstances.
Cyle MF Larin. Brilliant.
They needed that point badly.
With the cap going up, so can we say Nurse is fairly compensated at his current 9.25M ? because it’s not far off from the old 7M cap that he’s close to. There appears to be interest around the league. Unfortunately we have Bowman on our negotiation table. Let’s just hope he’s negotiating with Holland, Yzerman and not Dubas types. Buffalo would be an awesome trading partner given their good young players. I would add to get Levi and Byram.
Nurse for Dougie Hamilton. He has one year left at $9 mill. Devils want to move on from him. He’s RD though.
Can never have too many of those…
Hamilton has 2 years left at $9M, but point taken.
Hamilton would be my trade target as well, I’m not sure NJD needs more left shot D though
Maybe move Nurse for cap space and Dougie H in a separate deal
Would love that but with Mehta there there’s one less fool GM in the league.
Give Guerin a call. Overrated truculence and star finding. He gutted his team for a year of Quinn Hughes. Get the goalie.
Sociopaths can be charming. Just saying…
This is why I don’t put much stock in McDavid, Drai and Ekholm liking him. Eakins got MacT to think he was the next great coach. They have the gift of gab.
and really, what this team needs more than anything is a better bottom 6 and a coach that will play them and empower them. I don’t think they need Babcock to do this. Woodcroft and Knoblauch (year 1) were both able to do this without treating people like shit.
Babcock is a fossil in his strategy let’s get a up-tempo Coach. Bowman is loading up on the big skilled Wingers just like the Blackhawk days. Find another Joe Queeneville. Bowman and Coach need to be on the same page. No more sitting a Frederic who was playing well especially against a big fast skilled team in Anaheim.
You don’t say!
What would Bruce M say to all this nonsense?
Is this more chaotic than anytime when Pocklington owned the team? There was a time when a guy from Long Island came to Edmonton to look at buying the team and we found out later he was a fake and lived with his parents it was funny
Do we need to seriously question the so called leaders of this team supporting this clown move with Babcock? Have they even spoken directly to the issue or is it a Bowman misrepresentation? Does anyone know? Leave aside rumours of this or that “we heard….” Cause if they have, do we need to question the leadership cause this is insane
Gladly I’m moving past the “we gotta keep 97” at all costs. He needs to do what’s best for him and like I’ve said before, if I was him, I’d be moving on
Is the idea of McTavish coaching any more stupid than hiring a bully who, frankly, wasn’t great at his job during the later portions of his career?
Finally. There is a ton of research on the absolute devastation of bullying. This cannot be disputed. Is there a chance that like some bullies (I’ve know my share) Babcock turned on his charm and fake side when the so called meeting was held with the leaders but like a lot of bullies can’t help himself when the mask comes off? Particularly around younger players. Sure the likes of McDavid, Draisaitl, Ekholm etc won’t be bullied because bullies don’t go after the stars or people who push back…..but the young and inexperienced ones and even some veterans, like Marner, can be impacted. Bullies rarely change unless they get some serious programming.
I feel this is so so unnecessary and an absolutely stupid and idiotic ploy
I’m hoping that they did this to prompt movement by the league with Vegas by causing the commotion. Not sure it would work and it probably isn’t the case. It’s such a bad idea. I might be able to sway a little if he had done something to change as you said, but I don’t see that he has, but I’d still e expecting problems
Aren’t you a bundle of joy. You must be a Flames fan?
Oh gosh no. True blue Oilers fan. Yah I guess I did pose some party popping thoughts but these are weird times around the team. Like you, I’ve watched this team right from its inception and this is confusing. I would prefer solid and consistent managing and ownership to be honest. Oh well, let’s see how it plays out. Have a good weekend Reja
The sad thing is I agree with everything you’ve mentioned. I don’t want a jerk like Babcock taking over the reins. It’ll be a tough pill to swallow if that asshole is our next coach. I still have a few friends that are buddies with a couple of Redwing players from yesteryear when they won a Ring with him. Apparently he’s really stern on his system and he was able to guide a super talented group to a Cup.
Leaders don’t make deals with bullies —unless they’re inexperienced as leaders. My expectation is that leaders have some gravitas (ie. years of experience, know how to advocate for younger, or otherwise vulnerable teammates, aren’t panicked when things go sideways). Apparently, I’m naive, when it comes to hockey teams (perhaps other things, but I’ll stick to hockey here). Here, a teenager can be crowned with a C on the basis of being a really good skater and scorer. A dozen years later, he and his lieutenants are just finishing their brain development. Lots of lessons —about things other than skating and scoring, ahead.
If it’s true that the “leadership group” endorses a man with a reputation for preying on young and otherwise vulnerable players as their choice for coach, it suggests they may have a leadership lesson coming. One of those is that there are malign actors whose malignancy is all the more troubling because they are very smart, very charming.
Who is the mature adult here?
I think it should be the GM. If this GM is advocating for a bully, and if he lets his leadership group be hoodwinked, then it looks to me like whatever lessons he said were learned in the Chicago experience, that’s just BS. If the issue he’s facing is owner pressure and impatience, and he can’t or won’t stand up to the owner, he’s no longer fit to GM a hockey club of young men.
It all depends on the person some people respond positively to a kick in the ass others like the coddling approach. To me the Oilers seem to be a passive team including Nurse. K.K very rarely ripped on the reffing etc. I do hope we get a Coach that is more than X and O’s I want a Coach that has fire in his belly. A big no to Mike Babcock.
The story I’ve heard is that Babcock’s coaching worked for a young Zach Hyman. Great. For Hyman. And others who have his level of self-confidence/thick skin, etc. If I’m a team leader, I know that for every Hyman on the team there are at least 2-3 others who will be bullied. I can’t, knowing what I know at my ripe age, allow that on my team.
I’ll say it again: if player leadership group thinks a bully coach is what they need to feel good about screwing the season (and their goalies, and coach, and fans), that’s a testament to their immaturity as leaders. If the GM is advocating for a bully coach because the owner is pissed, that’s a testament to how little he learned in Chicago.
You shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that the owner is pulling all the strings.
Babcock is 63 the tank is almost empty. If he does come to Edmonton he might overcompensate and lay a complete egg.
We know that certain of the players, including McDavid and Drai, grilled Babcock directly on his previously transgressions and how/why he became the hardest of hard-asses and, apparently, determined he was their guy. That’s the reports.
You’re assuming he was completely open and honest.
Brian Burke was on with Bob Stauffer this afternoon and hinted there was more to come although he said he can’t say anything right now.
All part of the plan.
I didn’t assume anything – I responded to the following with the facts as we know them: “Have they even spoken directly to the issue or is it a Bowman misrepresentation?”.
That was about the Bruce Cassidy situation Im pretty sure, not Babcock
Burke is blowbag weasel he hates the Oilers. He just can’t get enough of trying to throw shade on Edmonton. Don’t let his Mr. Nice guy routine make you think otherwise
@SportsnetSpec
Edmonton Oilers still very much on UFA Connor Murphy’s radar.
Pending coaching search and status of Darnell Nurse both factors in his decision/negotiation.
Not deal breakers, we’re told, but factors.
I would think so it’s going to be a domino effect so you better stay focused for the next week.
Spec:
Edmonton Oilers still very much on UFA Connor Murphy’s radar.
Pending coaching search and status of Darnell Nurse both factors in his decision/negotiation.
Not deal breakers, we’re told, but factors.
We can not afford to lose Murphy. I don’t think Theres really anybody else out there to fill that spot?
There are 10-15 UFA RHD that played about the same or more minutes as Murphy with about half of those being more defensive than offensive guys. They don’t strictly need Murphy but I don’t think it would be easy to get an upgrade on him either.
I don’t see many good ones, knowing we can’t get Anderson, Trouba, Raddysh, etc.
My issue with Murphy is there is only downside in his future. Like Henrique was two years ago.
Murphy does seem like an ideal fit with Walman but again I go back to Henrique being an ideal fit for third line center…. until he wasn’t.
Jordan stall would be an example of an older player thriving unexpectedly but there are far more older players that find the cliff around Murphy s age.
If Henrique delivers at 3C we have at least 1 cup. I really thought he was answer the funny thing is Carrick should have been resigned at a 1/3 of the cost of Henrique. Carrick should not of been scratched for those final few games against the Panthers. Besides winning faceoffs and killing penalties Carrick had the wheels to make a difference in a tight checking game 7 in Florida.
Peeke is a similar stylistic fit, younger, more mobile,
Darnell Nurse, Isaac Howard, Josh Samanski, and 2028 1st for Roman Josi (and maybe Marschessault).
Marchessault is a cancer in the locker room.
Josi is aging – and he’s also missed quite a few games the last couple of years with head injuries.
You have to love the Yes reference very underrated band unique sounding. I don’t like trading for injured players but we might get a 1/3 cut rate because of the injury. Come on down Tippett all you have to do is dig in the corners and do a give and go
with Leon. Tippett you’ll score 30 don’t forget to get the over-plus on that ticket as well Owen.
I saw YES at Northlands circa 1984.
They were filming the concert over 2 days and didn’t have enough fans to make it look good so the producers announced that anyone making a donation to the Edmonton Food Bank would gain admission to the concert.
Side stage seats for the price of a can of beets or whatever was on hand.
Yes, to Jon Anderson. Good frontman, original, unique voice.
No, to Rick Wakeman. It was Tony Kaye on keyboard, who was actually the original keyboarder.
Saw that tour as well. Wonder if the attendance issue was the second night? Pretty full house the night I saw them.
Bugs Bunny cartoons as the opening act was an inspired choice.
They actually released a DVD of those shows which, along with a Nickelback DVD, are probably the best documents of Northlands as a fantastic concert venue.
That was my first exposure to Yes. Great concert! The looney tunes featured a “mad scientist” antagonist who ends up dosing Bugs and himself on ether.
Wasn’t that owner of a lonely hearts tour. Their biggest hit was a pop tune. I really like their old tunes same with King Crimson. Checkout the band Camel the best thing about internet is listening to all these 50 year ago bands that weren’t commercial.
I’m not sure why Dave Hakstol gets no play here. Hakstol would be my first choice over everyone but Cassidy.
He wasn’t great in Seattle. Did OK with a weak team, but that’s about it.
If Bowman can do with Nurse what he did with Keith that would be really nice to see. DO it Kenny! LA Kings media doesn’t even know there’s a salary cap in the NHL. They’ll be excited about the great defender you got off a rival.
Been to the SCF 2 years in a row playing many minutes.
Draft pedigree, seldom injured, leader in the dressing room.
Any team would be lucky to have Darnell Nurse.
This is the way.
In case anyone was curious, the Oilers were higher on the waiver priority list than the Canes when they claimed Brandon Bussi from the Panthers.
So we’re 75% of the teams in the NHL.
this is like saying oilers picked ahead of when jesper bratt was picked in the 6th round.
literally every team has misses.
Not the same imo.
The Oilers entered the season with goaltending questions and for the negligible price of a waiver claim, they could have test drove a depth goaltender from the team that just beat them in the Finals.
These low cost bets in areas of need are exactly the kind of actions I would expect a competent management team to take. Leave no stone unturned to improve your hockey club.
Bussi has played in 3 games in the playoffs with a .908.
We test drove Ingram for free who was a much more established option.
Of all the things to be upset about, this isn’t really a nail in the coffin imo.
Did I say I was upset?
We could have also test drove the likes of Bussi or DiPietro for free. But instead, management valued things like “good in the room” over good on the ice.
Context. For a GM or any high level manager there are a lot of balls in the air and competing interests and often goals. The job is to make the best choice at the time and be right more than wrong
Bowman has his views on things, they had just gone to the finals twice. The team was pretty tight, and the guys who have been seen as issues of course very popular – Nurse, Stu, Pick. MacCrimmon wouldn’t care and blow things up if he wanted to, most don’t operate that way and take the room and vibe of the team into consideration
I think he had made up his mind, but thought it was the right approach to bring those guys back and let them prove their worth. It didn’t happen and he started making moves
To me all bets are off now, and he can do what he thinks he needs to. The results haven’t been there and the players know that, and are saying they are on board to improve their chances of winning
Bussi had an .895 in 32 regular season games. Ingram had an .899 in 32 regular season games. Skinner had an .891 in 23 regular season games.
Torts answer on switching goalies was closer to being the stupidest thing I’ve heard than the question itself. Someone should ask him if he brings anything more to the table besides cheerleading and bullying.
I recall being impressed with Cassidy’s post-games addresses, even after losses. He seemed measured and thoughtful.
What was the question and answer?
Was the question about which tender he would go with and did he say he would stick with Hart, the first goalie in NHL history to allow 4+ goals in each of the first 5 games of the finals?
I believe he was asked if he had considered relieving Hart after the second period.
Thanks, rev!
Breaking News!
We have video footage of Nurse finding out that McDavid and Draisaitl are advocating for Babcock 😉
https://youtu.be/-Osi_8_VAow?si=PKPPF8BqjRG6bGKQ
Not really accurate – Nurse is still going to cash in for the next four years no matter where he lands.
But amazing clip!
Nurse&Howard could be a very attractive trade.I would only do this deal to an Eastern team as I don’t want Howard burning us on the PP for the next 12 years if I live that long.
I know 4D chess is probably outside the wheelhouse of this team’s management, but it sure does feel like the Babcock thing – especially if they knew the leagure would need to do an investigation – was a big middle finger to Gary for not nudging Vegas on Cassidy. And maybe trying to stir the pot a bit on Vegas’ “we didn’t want any distractions” excuse, by making it a distraction.
The topper would be if they let the league do the investigation, somehow clear Babcock, and then decline to hire him. *chef’s kiss*
But as we all know around here, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between deliberate trolling and incompetence.
Nurse has played 798 games for us add-in a 100 playoff games that makes the count at 898 games donning Oiler silks. Can anyone tell me how many goals have been own goals (Soccer on my mind) deflections off of Nurse for a goal) Against L.A he had like 3-4 in the first couple of playoff games if my memory serves me correctly. It’s probably less than I think but I’ll fake the wild pick of over 50 goals in 898 games.
No, but I’ll wish him well.
Last season, he deflected more pucks into our neck than he scored.
The playoff 2 years ago Nurse scored at least 4-5 times against L.A. I’m going to miss that or the back door play he gets sucked in on like clockwork. Nurse is a durable minute munching D-man no need to retain take back a D contract that’s half as much.
Cult of Hockey has that stat, at least for recent years. This year, if I remember correctly, Nurse had more own goals than all other Oilers D combined.
i too wonder about philly as the destination.
They could use his style on the backend.
Seeler is an option but i wonder about cam york, he is a little inconsistent but he is on a decent sized ticket for term, he is younger and plays a huge amount of PK minutes. Could he be the ekholm replacement long term?
Cam is 6 ft 194 and age 25.
Philly gets size, snarl, and veteran experience, oilers get more skill, youth, and someone who can skate well.
Ek-Bouche
Walman-Murphy
York-Emberson
is a solid defense.
Or what about a nurse+hutson for Ryan Graves + Justin Brazeau combo .
Graves is also overpaid by about 2 million but has a history of being solid and he is massive and fairly physical at 6 ft 5 225 lbs. Brazeau would be perfect for a 3rd line with Ike and nuge.
Ek-Bouche
Walman-Murphy
Graves-Emberson
Both interesting options. Probably not realistic on my part, but with rumors of Philly being open to moving Owen Tippett I try going all in for him as Drai’s new RW:
Nurse, Ike (who Philly may like as a cheap Zegras replacement depending on the latter’s contract ask) and the 2028 1st would be my opening bid, but suspect that remains light.
Im afraid I see a very unpredictable defence here. It may be good, but it could fall apart.
Both Ekholm and Walman could fall due to injury.
Nurse has some hard miles and serious injuries too. He’s played through them, but he was also a complete liability. Nurse’s durability isn’t everything that it’s cracked up to be.
He played through that torn hip flexor in the playoffs a few years back and I think it took him a good couple of years to fully regain his skating.
The number one thing fans are underestimating with Nurse is how non-analytical factors like scarcity and ego will drive demand.
First, Nurse will be perceived by enough teams as a quality #3 at minimum or an average top pairing D. All you have to do is look at his ES TOI usage with us which has been top 20 a lot of his career which is top pairing usage. And more recently the World Championships.
Second, models don’t attribute for scarcity when valuing a player. If there are only 5 top 4 D available this year and 10 teams need one, then the value placed on those 5 D go up exponentially. The actual cap hit starts to matter a lot less (at least to some) because the alternative option is so inferior. Same idea as car, house, specialty coffee pricing inflation when it doesn’t make actual value sense. Real NHL examples are a history of all the ageing big name C & D that you are shocked for what they return in trade.
The other scarcity is GM jobs. A lot of GMs are biased to value short term benefit over long term pain as there are only 32 jobs and they want teams with great results. You see it in real world with a lot of elected officials or competitive results driven jobs.
Third is ego. Sports is full of it and some teams are going to think that they can “fix” Nurse or get him back to playing like his peak and will value him accordingly. Same idea why E. Petersson is still talked about as having real value.
Great point.
There are a surplus of teams who need a veteran top-4 LHD and who have ample cap space to deploy:
Anaheim, Chicago, Detroit, LA, Philly, San Jose, Seattle, Toronto, Utah …
Thats not to say that all of those teams are interested in Nurse, but checking down the list the next best options are Shea, and then Kulak, and then … Stanley?
GM’s with ample cap space likely see Nurse as an affordable luxury versus bidding up for Jamie Oleksiak.
If Chicago was able to land Spencer Knight from Florida in a tight cap, surely Bowman can land a useful piece without taking back much salary in return.
ANA – Lacombe Mintyukov
LAK – Anderson Dumoulin/Edmundson
SJS – Orlov Dickinson
SEA – Dunn Lindgren
UTA- Sergachev Simashev
TOR – Rielly, OEL
While Rielly is likely to move on from the Leafs he is also likely to be traded for another LD..maybe Nurse.
Ken Holland might bite but their offseason plan has been stated as increased goal scoring especially by adding another top 6 C.
SJS will be focused on RD since they have ZERO veterans under contract at that position.
Mintyukov / Zellweger aren’t better than bottom-pair yet, but I agree ANH is likely to continue to develop them. Verbeek may want to accelerate the timeline though.
LA has 2 x 3rd pair Dmen after Anderson. Nurse would provide a huge upgrade.
Lindgren, Simashev, and Dickinson are not capable of 22+ mins / night. Not anytime soon anyway for the latter two.
Fact is there will be a lot of interest in #25.
Reilly and OEL are a couple of famous names who need to be sheltered now and should not be playing higher than a third pairing. OEL in particular is one of the softest players I watched all season.
And Reilly is useless defensively- he’s the current day Tyson Barrie of the NHL
If the Oilers trade Nurse without retention, can they weaponize the cap space?????
Psychologically, there’s a funny thing that happens to some (not all) when it comes time to sell an asset. Suddenly all the issues with that asset, the leaky basement, the aging furnace, the patchy lawn, are forgotten and the asset becomes romanticized instead as “the home where our children grew up!”
How is this relevant to Nurse?
Imo, we have to stay focused on what Nurse is now not what he once was. He’s not an irreplaceable top pairing defenceman. He’s not an elite shutdown D or a powerplay QB. He’s an inconsistent defensive defenceman whose baseline is 2nd pairing but he can vacillate between top pairing performance on a good day and bottom pairing performance on a bad day.
Most importantly he is NOT value for money in a cap system. Trading Darnell Nurse without retaining money is the goal here. If the GM can get a solid roster player in return, that is absolutely a win but it should not be a given. If Bowman could dump this contract for a pick and/or prospect and 9.5M back into the coffers to spend on better value contracts, that is absolutely a win.
Getting rid of this contract is most definitely addition through subtraction. That is the reality of a cap system.
Luckily I think this same biased thinking drives his value up for teams looking to trade for him
I agree that some old timey GMs could be prone to overrating Nurse’s intangibles (he fights!). Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be many of this ilk manning the helms on Nurse’s trade list.
I agree with you but I posted above that scarcity and ego I think will drive his price up to something real. TLDR; if there’s only a couple top 4D available and many teams need them then suddenly cap hit starts to value less than just getting one of those top 4 D
Let’s hope the market is Bowman’s friend on this one. In terms of getting a substantial roster player in return without retaining, that to me is dependent on another GM making a mistake. And while that would be nice, I don’t see it as a realistic expectation.
You describe a realistic view point, i do agree. But to magnify it even more, the GM trading Nurse must also weigh the psychological impact trading this player will have on the team
They are in middle of a huge risky move with Babcock that will have ripples across the roster.
Oilers have a mature team, a quiet team. Nurse was a big voice in the room, and a motivator. He also has physicality which is another psychological factor.
Bowman wants to push the leaders opinion forward in regard to Babcock if you trust that, but he wants no part of the leaders opinion in regard to trading their friend.
Its hard to be friends with cap space.
Nurse asked for the trade. Maybe the friendship isn’t what it used to be?
Vocal leaders are great if their on ice performance matches their rhetoric. If not, they tend to start losing the room.
What’s the evidence that McDavid and Draisaitl were not consulted by Bowman on a potential Nurse trade?
There were a number of interesting offer sheet examples that cap space also frees up
I doubt the Oilers will go the offer sheet route if only because it ties up your cap spending ability for 7 days while you wonder if the other team will or won’t match. It’s the kind of thing you do when you’re 30 days into the off-season and couldn’t get UFAs for free
I tend to agree that Bowman will prioritise cap space as the return because there have been plenty of hints that he wants to add a big ticket forward. We know that he was in on Rantanen before the trade deadline last year and there were rumours earlier this year that he was interested in Tuch.
My guess is that he’ll prioritise cap savings that can be used to sign Tuch if buffalo doesn’t. It sounds like buffalo don’t want to go above $10M for him but I can see Edmonton doing so if Nurse is off the books
I don’t think tuch will be better than Podz going forward. In the past he was.
Bobby mcman will likely be equal ish to tuch as a player at half the price.
Just because the oil may have some cap space doesn’t mean it has to evaporate. They also will have to replace nurse with a significant dman.
Tuch had 23 EVGs to Podz’ 18 so this is the way to be thinking. The Oilers the last 4-5 seasons have given the same 5 players almost all of the PP time with incredible results so they need to be considering additions that score/outscore at evens, PK and are cap efficient without paying for PP scoring numbers. I wouldn’t be unhappy with Tuch but he eats up a lot of cap for a team that has significant needs outside of scoring and ideally adds a younger guy instead of a 30 year-old
Dom’s analysis (https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7339910/2026/06/08/alex-tuch-nhl-free-agency-contract/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.plA.WBIM.kQcvUjvx2THh) which I have a lot of time for, puts Tuch in a completely different class to Podz. Interestingly he cites Edmonton as one of the few teams that could probably extract value out of Tuch at $10M because they can play him with McDavid or Drai.
I don’t doubt that tuch will get 10 mil plus. And likely be a great fit with McD or drai.
Tuch at that contract makes it much more difficult to balance the roster. Carolina is winning with a third line that that is often their first line. The oilers don’t need more first or second line or pp goals. They need more balance. In my opinion.
Tuch is the wrong age and expected cap hit. He’s had plus 30 goals the last two seaosns, but 66 and 67 points. That’s not 8 figure production. They really need guys who are experienced but entering their prime. They can never have depth if they have more than 3 high cap players
This. Exactly ^
Let someone else make that overpay.
Bowman is also the type to simply hand over cash to Murphy and Dickinson after such a move, which would also be a large mistake.
Murphy isn’t needed to babysit Nurse, and Dickinson doesn’t produce enough to move up the lineup when fill-ins are needed.
Yes let’s be frivolous on July 1. Bowman still has trade collateral as Howard appears not to be a fit. Howard might go with Nurse in an old-fashioned trade Sather trade. Buckle-up Bowman needs to get these big-skilled wingers up front. A couple more Podkolzin will work.
I know one person that thinks Howard is not a good fit because he played 2/3 of his rookie season in the AHL.
Please Lord no whale hunts. Not unless spectacular
Nobody has explained why Tuch was so slow in the playoffs relative to his normal player tracking numbers.
I heard he was fatigued.
Just got tuch-ered out
Exactly. Anyone who watched the Sabres this year’s playoffs would stay away from Tuch like kyrptonite. He was so slow to the play that he was a liability out there. Kyrou as proposed often here would be a perfectly fine addition. We need a 4th D to replace Nurse !
Trade Nurse for capspace and then sign Kirby Dach when the Habs don’t qualify him. Big RHC are the true unicorns.
I love me some Kirby Dach.
Kirby Dach is the exact player they’ve needed for awhile.
Yet somehow the Habs can’t wait to get rid of him
He can’t play a full season.
He’s had rotten luck with injuries. But for a 6’4″ RHC with 3rd overall pedigree, you have to take the risk.
Injuries were the knock on Zach Hyman before we signed him.
Dach has done at least some of his off season rehab in Edmonton in the past. I would think the oilers have a pretty good idea on his health.
He could very well be a perfect fit if he was fully recovered from his surgeries. At A low cost.
If the Habs don’t want to qualify him, then I’d be willing to trade (a small asset) for him, rather than let him reach the market. I’d be perfectly fine qualifying him for 4 million if Nurse was off the books.
Holy hell, seriously?
$4MM for Kirby Dach?
I mean, he was phenomenal in the playoffs against Edmonton and trending to be a power top 6 centre in this league but injuries seem to have cratered his ceiling – he’s nowhere near a top 6 player and the Habs didn’t play him at center.
This is a $1MM base plus performance bonuses (which he is eligible for on a one year deal) – for me.
As some have commented below, teams are asking to get on Nurse’s list. Nurse has value, his cap hit is a lot less of a deal than it was, enhanced his rep going to the Worlds, it isn’t a foregone conclusion that they ‘have’ to retain to move him. And Bowman shouldn’t. Take less and no retention
It’s the Oilers MO — and this goes back waaaay beyond Bowman Jr. — to pay full freight in trade. And then some.
Prove me wrong, Son of Scotty!
I haven’t seen Bowman’s trades as overpays. Jarry has gone into the popular lexicon as overpay, terrible trade. I think folks overestimated Stu’s value and rep in the league, and underestimated Jarry’s – as teams and players see things
McLennan was pretty harsh about Stu when the deal went down. Woodley and others have spoken about Jarry’s underlying numbers and they were better than Stu’s at the time. Most think Jarry has a higher ceiling. It also gets said that Stu was going UFA and Jarry had term is negative, that was actually a positive as it gave cap certainty, Bowman said that. Someone might get a deal now for Stu, but the Oilers would have had to pay him more than Jarry most likely as a longer term drafted player, or risk not having a signed NHL level goalie
Also overestimated Kulak’s rep and value in general, a career 3 pair D with a big cap hit for that role, especially with how bad he was this season while in Edmonton
I have zero faith that Bowman can make a deal without retention.
Maybe not, but for me Bowman has been a far better and more creative deal maker than Holland by far. I am less worried than if Holland was still around, that would have been a walloping
When Bowman delivers an Ekholm, we can talk.
He delivered a Podkolzin.
After losing Holloway, so a net loss. It is not progress if one moves two steps back to take one step forward.
LOL – put those goalposts wherever you need them for your narrative.
I have zero faith in Bowman. Period.
Friedman says the Oilers continue to want the league to proceed with the Babcock investigation. They are prepared to wait this out and see where it goes.
No timeline but he thinks the league wants to deal with it quickly. With no CBA with coaches, Bettman has a lot of power to rule either way.
Oilers players that met with Babcock are fully supportive of the hire.
I am surprised to learn NHL coaches have no CBA. Seems like a labour group that might benefit from collective bargaining.
Pretty small group, even when you include assistants etc.
I am far from an expert, but one could reasonably suggest that a smaller group is easier to organize than a big one, no? Seems like a smart agent might start a campaign to organize the coaches and staff into a union to drive up wages.
They do have an association the NHLCA but I think coaches are fired too quickly and there are too few jobs for them to effectively use a union for job action.
They definitely would benefit from collective bargaining but I can’t see the NHL/Owners actually agreeing to that.
Have to keep all options open. The have already stepped on the bees nest, no need to back out now
What happens if the league suspends him? Will he get credit for “time served”?
As Seravalli said, they better have some options in the bullpen. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything to better himself or apologized to everyone. Particularly the guys he was over the top with. I expect Bettman is going to insist on those things happening to reinstate him, as it was for the Hawks thing
If he is suspended the oil will have to forfeit a 2nd round pick.
Who exactly were these players that met with Babcock?
We know McDavid and Drai for sure and its believed that Hyman and Ekholm were on a call with Babcock but don’t know for sure.
You’d have to think that if the PA buried something heinous it would be in Babcocks best interest to stay retired. Occums Razer suggests that whatever it is, it’s likely something he can “get past”.
And I’d also suggest that Bowman, who would have ZERO interest in re-litigating his character (done a ton of work on anti-bullying) so he either a) feels there’s nothing insurmountable here or b) he hasn’t been told the truth by Babs and didn’t uncover the truth during his due diligence.
Do you think Babcock is Bowman’s hire? I really wonder how they would work together. Maybe he wants to go with Nurse out east somewhere.
PA didn’t bury anything – they presented it to the league and then Babcock resigned so the league didn’t do anything with it. The PA is now asking the league to look in to in before permitting the Oilers to hire Babcock.
You assume Babcock knows what’s in his best interests, rather than just rationalize his past actions.
Said it yesterday. But unless we retain i think our best case is someone like Graves from Pit, because he has 3 years at $4.5 mill left. Can be 3LD. He is nothing special, but he can play, is big and is a vet. easier to bury or buyout, and it still gives us $4.75 mill saved.
Unless they eat $2 mill, they won’t get a higher end return. I’d rather get Graves then have $2 mill on the books for years.
Grave’s contract is perfect for playing the “we have money” card. Should the Oilers acquire him and pay his $2M signing bonus, he’s only at an average of $3M/year for 3 years in actual salary or $2.6M/year for 2 years if we do that next summer. That’s not bad for a cap floor team to get a useful player and budget relief. Ideally, that’s not the route they go but it’s not bad as a “floor” to look at for a Nurse deal.
Friedman saying today that he has only heard East teams on Nurse’s list but thinks if there is a West team it’d be LA. Also saying lots of teams who aren’t on his list have been reaching out to see if they can get on the list. This is huge as it likely really drives up the price. He also mentioned if Oilers can retain $2 ish mil, return would be solid. Knowing this and guessing teams with mutual interest, here are some names to think about as targets and/or $ matching:
Philly: Tippet, Jiricek, Cates, Michkov, Seeler, York
Pitt: Karlsson, Rakell, Rust, Silovs, Murashov, Blomqvist, Graves
LA: Byfield, Laferiere, Kuemper, Forsberg, Fiala, Turcotte, Anderson, Edmundson, Dumoulin, Ceci
BOS: Khusditinov, Lindholm, Lohrei
BUF: Kesselring, Norris, Levi, Byram, and loads of young 20 forwards
NYR: Lafreniere, Fox, Schneider, Zibanejad
DET: Copp. Compher, Rasmussen, Chiarot, Gibson, Cossa
Philly: Any one of those guys would be a decent add in their own way. Michkov surely can’t be available even with the “mercurial” nature of his playoffs, can he?
Pitt: I’d be leery of Karlsson due to age and replication of Bouchard skills, but I’d have time for the rest of the lads on that list.
LA: I see what you did there with the Ceci inclusion 😉 I’m not sure they’d move Fiala or Kuemper either if it’s LA. I’d have a lot of time for Byfield if he was available.
Boston: Khustidinov would be a decent get. Lindholm’s recent injury history is giving Walman 2.0, plus then we’re straight back into oodles of cash tied up in left defence. Lohrei would be a pretty pricey third pair guy, but at least is young and can likely step up to 2nd pair if/when Walman breaks, I might want Lohrei more than Kustidinov.
Buffalo: I have time for pretty much anything they’re offering. Great pool of young talent that they likely can’t keep all of.
NYR: I see what you did with Fox 😉 If he somehow waived to come to Alberta after what happened with Calgary it would be hilarious. Big Z, I’ve loved him for years but he’s getting older, plus centre should be a strength with McD/Drai/Nuge/Samanski already in house. Lafreniere – I doubt he’s available but that’s an obvious upgrade as a winger for Drai and could eventually be the Hyman replacement for when he ages out. Schneider – versatile enough, could be a solid 2nd pair guy, I can see it.
Detroit: Absolute hard no on Chiarot. Copp I don’t mind as he fills a role for a year and then if it doesn’t work then we can walk away. Compher – that’s a big contract for a 3rd liner. Rasmussen – he is very large and has never played a full season. Gibson – I wasn’t in on him coming here when the rumours were linking us with him. I’m even less keen on Gibson (even if he only has a year remaining) when we have Jarry already, a Gibson/Jarry tandem seems like a horrible plan. Cossa – discussed at length over the last few weeks, I like the potential, and if we’re stuck with Jarry we may as well go for young potential stud rather than Gibson.
Lots of good options you’ve identified there. My favourite has to be Fox purely for S**thousery reasons although there’s essentially zero chance he’d come here. Realistically the more I looked into them I like Lohrei, Schneider, Copp and then the obvious Cossa. Honorable mentions to basically the entire Buffalo team.
I agree with everything you said and also would love the chaos of a Fox add with maybe a Sutter hire as the cherry on top to Flames nation! And ironically, regarding Boston’s Lindholm, I was actually thinking about the ex-flame Elias as a trade of overpriced contracts at value positions.
The Chairots and Graves additions are mentioned as another way of retaining cap hit to hopefully add return back a la Cossa, Blomqvist, Rasmussen etc
Noah cates would be an ideal 3c. York could be a longterm ekholm replacement.
Graves has less term and a lot less money.
Byfield or Fiala is a pipedream.
Lindholm or Lohrei would be great.
Pretty sure laffy/fox/zibanejad are pipedreams.
i would accept a copp/cossa combo.
If this team enters the season with Jake Walman as 2LD, we are in big trouble. The problem with trading Nurse is you have to replace him.
Well if they’re really hurting…I may be right-handed and a couple years past my prime…but
I don’t tip pucks in my own net, know how to tie up an attacker in front of my goalie, and take a proper slap shot.
I’ll also take a smidge less than the money he was making. 🙂
We are paying him $7M so he needs to be otherwise move on from him too.
Great point. There was no way he could stay 3 pair at his cap hit because of Bouch’s cap hit, Kulak was too much that’s why they moved him. And he’s much better than a 3 pair
It’s interesting to me how often we heard that Kulak was a luxury on the third pair at $2.75M but lots of people wanting to our 2/3 LHD to be $16.25M combined or “we’re in trouble”
Walman is a good 2LD when he’s healthy… but he misses on average ~1/4 of every season due to injuries.
If Walman is the slotted 2LD, we need another 4/5 blueliner for 3LD
Yes we will need some risk mitigation for Walman’s health.
Walman is a fine-very good 2LD when healthy – he played through a LBI most of last season, could barely pivot – cratered his game.
In my opinion, what they need to do, if they move Nurse, is backfill with an upgrade at 3LD with a d-man that can move up when injuries hit – someone like Kulak.
If the team enters the season with Connor Murphy at 2 RD we’re in trouble. You cant have insurance for every position.
I think Connor Murphy is a very capable 2RD and the type of player this team needs.
Bouchard, Murphy, Emberson, Regula – that’s a strong right side.
Friedman on his pod saying he thinks the info on Nurse got made public yesterday as some teams got wind of Nurse’s list and were asking if it could be expanded to include their team.
There are teams interested in acquiring him and Friedman thinks a hockey trade can me made. He thinks Philly has interest. He said one team told him if the Oilers would retain in the $2MM range a real hockey trade could be made.
Yesterday the early thoughts were around getting back either a Graves, Reilly, or Edmondson in return. This is glass-half-empty thinking that only substitutes Nurse’s salary for a worse player on a less-worse contract.
Bowman has lots of holes to fill, at wing and at Center. If retaining a bit on Nurse gets you a better player to play up the lineup I think you make that flip.
I’ve maintained that Nurse has better trade value than most here would anticipate. Aim high, Stan.
No holes at Centre if you deploy 97, 29, 93 and Samanski. The Centers Four.
I think they need more than 4 centres and definitely at least one RHC. Every Oilers coach has loaded up the 1-line with McD and Drai at some point but it really needs to be considered that after every PP with 97, 29 and 93 out there, they’d only have Samanski to run at C for the next shift at evens. If I was the Oilers, I’d add a 2C, 3C and possibly another 4C like Lazar or better just to not get caught in that situation every game.
Bingo.
A strong 2C enables you to build a second line of Savoie-2C-Hyman with Nuge anchoring the 3rd line.
The Oilers have had to split 97 and 29 out of necessity due to lack of depth in the lineup. Build a strong enough 2nd line and let the big boys and Podz run roughshod. McDavid will never leave of he gets to play 20 mins with Drai each and every game.
Intel is lining up with what I thought – teams are interested in the player but not at the cap hit.
I don’t think there are as many holes as you do, presuming they re-sign Murphy at under $5MM. Nurse creates a hole as we need a more substantial 3LD than Stastney given the injury risk with Ek/Walman.
I see lots of forward option with Howard and Samanski locked on the team, on merit. A substantial 3C would be nice but I am willing to keep that powder dry, or allocated elsewhere and see where they can go with Nuge getting a real 20+ game run at 3C.
Been saying for years now that the NMC was not a barrier to trading him. Just an excuse that his fans would use to justify not trading him.
Steve Staois, agents and Bowman have said they don’t stop trades, gives players a say. The only thing is it’s often messy, though sometimes not like with Arvi, as the player also wants a change
It has been a barrier up and till now, right? I mean, this isn’t the first time management has discussed moving Nurse.
Its also continuing to be a barrier given the low number of teams – its creating a very small market.
Nurse had zero reason to waive in the past. Zero. He is one year away now, and will get to have a major say in where he is going. The decision this year comes due to a change in the weather for this roster.
Fine – as recently as last month, I was saying that the NMC would not be a barrier to moving Nurse. Make things uncomfortable enough, and players will waive their NMCs. The Nurse stans were still using the excuse of his NMC as a reason for why he couldn’t be traded.
There’s very few instances where it’s a legitimate obstacle, Marner being the most notable recent example.
Most players when informed that their team wants to trade them will choose to get out of Dodge.
Took 2-3 years for Nurse to agree after the team first asked him about his MMC and any appetite for waiving it.
It’s pretty clear what he’s saying. If you make life a little less comfortable than all of a sudden you have a more willing partner.
Yes, all of a sudden after 2-3 years…..
The NMC has been, and continues to be a barrier to trade.
Best case scenario for now is, after a few years of being a complete barrier its provided a 5-team market (without it there would be a 26 team market).
What he is saying is clear, for sure, I don’t agree with it.
LT – bang on with the Nurse return. Cap is king. If you can get a good, young player on a nice cheap deal, gravy. Otherwise, picks and cap.