Someone out in the ether wrote about the Oilers trading more than just Darnell Nurse from the ‘veterans’ list on the current roster. I would like to give credit, and did look, but can’t find it.
Either way, I’d like to tell you that I do not endorse the idea. The Oilers are carrying many players who are at or near the cliff, but they continue to deliver. Let’s use Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as an example. All numbers five-on-five via Natural Stat Trick.
- Nuge with 97 2023-24: 2.26 pts-60, 61 pct Goal Share (64 pct expected)
- Nuge with 97 2024-25: 1.5 pts-60, 54 pct Goal Share (58 pct expected(
- Nuge with 97 2025-26: 1.86 pts-60, 51 pct Goal Share (55 pct expected)
There is erosion here, and you can probably count on more of it next season. However, the Oilers addressed it this past season by moving Matt Savoie to the No. 1 left wing slot. Savoie alongside McDavid posted 2.14 pts-60, with a 57 percent goal share (51 percent expected). So the problem is solved internally, and now we look for the next step re: RNH.
In the case of Nuge, I think there’s still real value and would slot him as No. 3 center with Ike Howard and (say) Jordan Kyrou. A soft minutes hummer, that line could erupt often enough to drive opposition coaching staffs to high anxiety.
I know there is aging injury to worry about and that leads us to Zach Hyman, Jake Walman and others. Mattias Ekholm played all 82 games last season, and was splendid, but can you count on that?
The problem is each of these men are key. Foundation roster players are the top two lines, top two pairings, No. 3 center and starting goalie. The list currently is Savoie-McDavid-Hyman; Podkolzin-Draisaitl-someone; Ekholm-Bouchard; Walman-someone probably Connor Murphy; Nuge; someone probably Tristan Jarry.
So, the aging veterans who are also foundation pieces include Hyman, probably Murphy, Nuge. You can gameplan to replace these men, and acquiring Kyrou gives the organization the option of moving him up if Hyman gets hurt again.
Maybe Josh Samanski can play No. 3 center in time, but Nuge is a better choice now. RH defense? I like Emberson but he hasn’t played enough on the second pairing to be a real solution.
No sir. Stay the course. Maybe a year from now Ike Howard has answered one of the questions, and maybe the Oilers get lucky on a player or two. Dealing Nurse for cap room has its advantages. I wouldn’t trade anyone in the foundation portion of the roster aside from Nurse this summer. The Oilers don’t have enough bubbling under to make the case, and I’m not confident Stan Bowman can veedon fleece another general manager.
On the show today, it’s the round table as the hooligans try to take over the good ship Lowdown. I’ll be in there trying to MacGyver my broadcast future for another week, but it’ll be tough sledding. Noon to 2pm, Sports 1440 and You Tube.
Jim Hiller hired as the Leaves’ new coach.
Chris Johnston:
Re Hurricanes: They…made a major trade for Mikko Rantanen; once it was clear he wasn’t gonna sign…they…made a second move; they were talking to Dallas…the Hurricanes could’ve had Jason Robertson; they…chose Logan Stankoven – Chris Johnston Show
https://x.com/andystrickland/status/2067021553758310542?s=61
Would think now that the final is wrapped up, we are headed towards a resolution with Babcock and the Oilers. Hearing, among other things, part of the NHL’s investigation includes a situation that involved Patrik Laine.
Our leadership group cares about one thing. Winning. Unfortunately to win, you gotta care about teammates. You think Bouchard will excel under Babcock? I just have this feeling that he’ll be bullies and driven off the team.
Friedman on with Stauff tonight. Mentions he originally reported the Nurse gave 3-5 teams but now says it was three and all out east (I.e not LA).
He also said there are teams not on the list that have interest and he could see them going to the Oilers and asking if they could talk to Nurse to see if they can get on his list.
Remains convinced a real hockey trade can be made with Nurse at around $7MM
Can the Oilers win a trade / improve the team if they retain 2 million? I am not confident in Bowman to swing that type of trade.
Of course they can – a combination of the asset(s) back in the trade and how they allocate the $7MM.
My point is: it will not be easy to replace Nurse for 7 million, especially in an inflationary cap period.
I agree with that but I don’t think the plan is to “replace Nurse’. They have a 2LD replacement in Jake Walman, fully capable when healthy. Of course, we know health is a concern and a portion of the savings should be used on a 3LD upgrade for some cover.
So, a left D capable of playing on the second pairing is likely going. to cost in the $4 million range which when added to the $2.25 million retention leaves a net benefit of the trade around $3 million.
What level of player are you expecting to add at that price point?
That can be added to what is needed to get Murphy, Kap and/or Dickinson done or added to what they would be able to spend on an external free agent – an $8MM player vs. a $5MM play. Plus the player they get back in the Nurse trade with Friedman is positive will be a hockey trade and positive asset with Nurse at $7MM.
We are talking about moving a player with a current significant negative cap value – noone should be expecting a massive home run with one massive blockbuster trade but there is the ability to make a series of moves that overall help the team.
Walman playing more game near 100% health is a key and, we know, a risk – is what it is.
— is that the English “Not in Love” by Brit Band 10cc, or the CanCon Platinum Blonde “Not in Love” (who put on fake British accents by the way)
— Platinum Blonde was sadly the first live band I saw: while we were on a family vacation in PEI. I think it was them and honeymoon Suite when I was around 10 years old.
— have some redemption as my next concert was Bruce Springsteen at Exhibition Stadium so there’s that
I saw Springsteen at Exhibition Stadium in Aug/85 when I was 19. My first “big city” experience. I still have the ticket stub, $25.25!!
10cc, love that song.
The vocal loops inspired a lot of engineers and producers, including Phil Ramone and Billy Joel.
https://youtu.be/HaA3YZ6QdJU?si=ZC5zClld-JWvZizG
How creative are you when you can write I’m not in love and dreadlock holiday? Bonkers
Sakic and McFarlane swing a trade.
Ross Colton $4M to Nashville for a couple of picks and a swap of goaltending prospects.
Sakic clearing cap space.
Nurse would be perfect in Colorado.
He would be the highest paid 3LD in history on that team.
He is their number 1 easily. Would probably take pp from Makar too.
Delusional.
I love it when the troll falls for bait.
I’m loving the 10CC reference had me going back and cranking the catchy and funniest music video of all time in Dreadlock Holiday.
I was Nuge 4eva. now I dunno.
I hope Nuge is rested and refreshed next postseason. This year didn’t look like he had his legs at all at all, and I can’t look past slow boots / low gumption. There’s no place for that on an older, cap-strapped team with the window closing.
Last year had me thinking Oil could go full term no problem, ride that contract out, and what’s more trust Ryan as never before to cover 2nd and 3rd pivot. Even at his peak Nuge didn’t excel in that role, but 2025 playoffs he looked bonafide.
This year…did not look good.
Hope it’s a blip.
Hopefully:
Long summer, lesser role, fewer minutes, load management, and the Nuge we all love is back…?
Yeah, in the 2024 and 2025 playoffs, he was great value at his cap hit, particularly in the 2025 series against Dallas; he might’ve been Edmonton’s best forward in that series.
His play dropped off significantly after a Florida player (can’t remember who, I think it might’ve been Ekblad) broke his hand with a slash early in the 2025 finals.
Hopefully, with a longer offseason to rest and recover, we see Nuge return to form in 2026-2027.
His return after injury in late Nov coincided with the Nov 26-Dec 25 flash of greatness from this team. (What happened between Xmas and the fabled final 11 games remains a mystery…)
Let’s say there are 4 plausible trades on the table for Nurse:
1) To LA for either Edmondson or Dumoulin
2) To Phi for Seeler
3) To Pitt for Graves and the Oilers’ pick traded in the Goalie deal
4) To Det for JT Compher
None are fantastic returns but they’re plausible and most offers return a 3rd pair LD.
Question:
Do you think the Oilers are better off making one of these deals now, or in mid-July when one of those teams has struck out in free agency?
The longer you wait, the higher the chance we get into the summer and Nurse says “nah, I’m good” and does not waive his NMC. Strike while the iron is hot
I don’t think we need to say that.
There is the option of retaining and getting value back, not bad contracts.
Is Babcock so much better than every other option out there from a coaching perspective that he’s worth all the other potentially damaging nonsense that comes along with him? Crossing my fingers that LV grants Cassidy access and we hire him.
As for Nurse, he’s clearly well aware that the team would have been looking to trade him next offseason when he the only say he has is to submit a list of 10 of the 32 teams in the league he would not be traded to. By asking for a trade and offering a list of 3-5 teams (whatever that number is), he gets a whole lot more say in where he goes. It sucks that it came to this with him, as I’m a huge fan of the guy, but the contract has been a problem for years. I hope we’re able to find a deal that helps the team and gets him a new start in a place he is going to be happy playing.
I would be happy with almost any deal that sheds the entire contact without retention (hate, hate, HATE the idea of retaining on a deal with that much term left on it). And if we are able to move the contract for picks and prospects, I would love to see a return of Kulak despite the fact that he’ll turn 33 this season. 3 x $3.5M would make me happy, but 2 years at that price would be even better.
I love Kulak and I’m sad to see him go, but we don’t need Kulak, we need the Kulak from 4 plus years ago. I believe that shouldn’t be a problem in free agency this year or as part of the Nurse trade.
This is a great point. Last weekend I had to do my annual SafeSport renewal and reading through it and reading through what has been stated by many former players from Franzen, to Commodore and others makes it very clear that Babcock was guilty of bullying violations.
With what agents are saying about their clients, what others beyond the Oilers leadership have said, is this REALLY worth it?
I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more talk about the Hurricanes winning the Cup with a true man coverage system.
I suspect part of the reason for this is it’s just simply not seen as a viable system for most NHL teams. Not only do you need speed throughout the lineup to do it, the team has to be in amazing physical condition to play it. How many teams can viably do that without Rod the Bod pushing the players?
Taylor Hall said he thought he was in great shape until he got to Carolina and their system forced him to take his conditioning to the next level.
M on M gets exposed. They sure gave up a ton of breaks. It’s not like they are an airtight defense, Woodley was saying he couldn’t believe with the shots so low the amount of HDSC. Could have gone either way if the Knights cashed a little better. Such is hockey
It did result in a LOT of odd man rushes against.
I had this thought too but don’t know enough about what’s currently standard for most NHL teams. Zone is certainly in vogue in our little corner of the league. I think? (not a coach)
Most teams seem to favour a hybrid system with man coverage sprinkled strategically within an overall zone concept.
Hockey is such a fluid reactive sport, it’s almost impossible to confine it to one structure.
The benefit of playing man coverage is that you’re reducing what the athlete has to think about system wise. This supposedly allows them to be be quicker, freer, and more aggressive in their play.
The Oilers seem to prefer the Hellen Keller style of defensive coverage.
I’m not so sure. Hellen was terrible at puck watching.
Most teams don’t use man on man because it’s easier to have layers of defense. Might be easier to understand man on man
In regards to Nurse, has anyone reported who the 3 to 5 teams he’ll waiver his NMC, actually are?
Or are we all just still speculating it’s Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, team du jour?
Kings are supposedly on the list
Friedman said tonight he believes it was 3 teams and all east
I agree with LT’s assessment of the team, and believe that the core of a team should be the top 2 lines, 3C, top 4D and starting goalie. I also believe that every line needs an identity in order to succeed, and that keeps the teams focused long past the point where they may or may not be scoring. Gretzky has spoken about that idea, where MacTavish, Lumley, McLelland, Semenko etc… they all had their own jobs, whether it was to hit, to play defence, to provide energy. His job was to score, and because of that, there was not much resentment when Gretzky got tons of PP time, or extra time down a goal, but also that he would take a backseat in situations when they needed to button down on Defence. With that idea in mind, I think that a path forward would be to make our 3rd line a defensive/shutdown line, and I propose the following:
Savoie – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Kapanen/Howard/Replacement
Nuge- Dickinson – Replacement
Dach – Samanski –
Janmark
Ekholm – Bouchard
Walman – Murphy
Replacement – Emberson
Stastney
Jarry
Cossa
This assumes that Nurse is indeed gone.
That makes the new lineup looking like:
Savoie – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Michkov
Nuge – Dickinson ($5M) – Back/ Heinen ($0.9M-1.5M)
Dach ($1M)- Samanski – Frederic
Janmark – Joseph ($1M)
Ekholm – Bouchard
Walman – Murphy ( $3.75M)
Oleksiak – Emberson
Stastney ($1.2M)
Jarry
Cossa ($1.5Mx2)
I would personally also try to move frederic if he is open to it, to pick up somebody like Evangelista. He’s a little faster, a lot better on Defence and could potentially move up the lineup if need be. The biggest drawback of my lineup is that Nuge is essentially the only player who could realistically move up into the top 6 if there are injuries or slumps, and so the top 6 depth is weak without Howard to potentially move up.
Assuming Oleksiak signs for $4.6M for 3 seasons, this lineup comes out to around $100M cap hit, not accounting for Michkov’s potential bonuses, and around $4M of cap space.
For conversation. If Dickinson is signed for 5×5. Plays 50-70 ish games and gets 5-9 goals and 20 ish points is that a contract that you think the oilers should sign?
Other than two outlier years where he got pp time thats roughly what his past many years suggest his production will be going forward.
I don’t feel his ability to play good defensive and win faceoffs with little offence is worth anything more than fourth line center money.
If the oilers expect him to be something he isn’t then the result will most likely be mangipaine ish. And much worse than Henrique who one could at least expect decent offense from.
Personally, I think that is advisable. It is my opinion that an elite, defensive center is something that is rare in todays NHL and its worth it to pay that contract when you get the chance to sign one of them. I would have signed Danault to that contract 4 years ago, and Dickinson is the same age as Danault was then. I don’t look to Dickinson for his production, I look to him to shut down the opposing teams top players, which he is very capable of. The issue wasn’t Dickinson, it was his useage. If the Oilers aren’t going to employ a shutdown line, however, and aren’t willing to line match, then it would be a ridiculous overpay.
Henrique had 0.3 PPG as an Oiler, Dickinson has 0.23 PPG. Nothing spectacular, but comparable.
I think Nurse has value around the league.
I don’t for one moment think that he’s going to fetch us Michkov + other assets.
If we can rid ourselves of his contract and only take on a contract for someone useful like Nick Seeler, then that would be a win.
You should temper your expectations.
Good discussion. For me I’d want a chance of offence.
Henrique I thought was a near perfect fit at a good cap hit on his hometown discount deal.
with good history of offense and a good defensive player. When the offense dried up the deal looked bad.
Dickinson may be better as a shut down guy but tough for me to see him as more than a fourth liner based on a long history.
The general premise is great but I don’t consider Dickinson an elite defensive center in that mold. I saw multiple mistakes on goals against in the regular season from him. He is a very good defensive player but I didn’t see the locked down consistency to call him elite.
Henrique got crucified for his overall play at $3MM – imagine less offence from Dickinson and marginally better defensive play (from what I saw from him) for $2MM more (and longer than 2 years)…..
40 pounds overweight?? That’s a lot of not knowing how to train!! LOL
Please no more Janmark, unless we can get Devon Shore as well.
Maybe he was trying to avoid the draft.
n/a
With respect, this does not seem to be close to the realm of reasonableness.
The 21 year old, recent 7th overall pick (who would have been higher if not signed for term in Russia at the time), who has seasons of 26G/63P and 20G/51P is not going to be traded for Darnell Nurse at $8.1MM – well, not without adding, say, Podz and the 2028 1st and I’m not even sure that does it.
What amI misant here.
Nightmare scenario:
Nurse traded. Walman gets hurt and/or plays 50 games, Ekholm regresses or is injured. Who is stepping up?
It’s a way bigger problem than losing a top six winger IMO.
Yup it’s why the first course of business after trading Nurse is to secure a Kulak level 3 LHD. Its a know risk that must be addressed.
I feel a little deflated by the probable Babcock signing. It’s dredging up how I felt when Bowman was hired.
People deserve second chances. But with Babcock in particular it’s a pattern of a behaviour. You’re only as good as the way you treat the most vulnerable people around you, agree? I’ve seen lots of brilliant people be good to others at the same time.
It’s a bit of a crossroads for me. I also really don’t like the hammering of guys to grease their exit. Seeing it with Nurse, saw it with plenty others before. I don’t treat people like that and it’s hard to cheer for that.
I do feel the firing of Woodcroft and then Knoblauch were poorly handled and did nothing to address underlying organizational issues.
Anyways it’s just a sport and who cares if you alienate a fan or two along the way. Funny enough I don’t mind losing…this stuff gets under my skin in a different, more disturbing kind of way.
I 100% agree with you on this.
I have been fairly conflicted over this offseason for the reasons you laid out above.
When Leon stated that “everyone needs to be better”, then I thought it would lead to a front office that smartened up and conduct themselves in professional manner. The handling of the Knoblauch firing alone gives me no reason for optimism in this respect.
“People deserve second chances. “
This is the part that gets me – his second chance was in Columbus and it went so poorly that it was better for him to just retire.
There’s no shortage of coaches in this league, but the Oilers are convinced that the guy who has coached 5 seasons (with a losing record) in the last 10 who also has a lot of baggage and has had a second chance already, is their guy.
I’ve been hammering on Nurse for the past 3-4 years. He’s had second and third chances with multiple coaches now. Move on.
This Babcock thing is crazy … I still think they are waiting for Cassidy. Once Vegas promotes their AHL coach to the NHL, then we’ll see what happens. I don’t think anything happens until then.
“Funny enough I don’t mind losing…this stuff gets under my skin in a different, more disturbing kind of way.”
Same.
I also find it strange that having these kinds of concerns is being written off in some conversations here in Oilerville as “virtue signalling” and “moralizing.”
Really?
These are the men our sons and the boys in our neighborhoods are looking up to as role models. They will rarely be squeaky clean. I’m not. But, having had a chance to reflect and redeem themselves, and failing to prove themselves worthy of emulation, they should be moved on to other less public roles.
Agreed with all of this. Hey why not get a coach that will make players want to sign/ resign here instead of a coach that scares them away?
Will the Oilers interview Torts?
We should. Lots about him not wanting to be in Canada ( he lived in Point Robert’s, Washington when he coached in Van, apparently woukd cancel practice a lot, didnt seem to want to be there ) but we should at least be talking to him. Van was also not a good team.
Yeah but Vancouver is a world class city. Point Roberts has absolutely nothing there; they have cross their border into Canada at Delta, then drive down to the Peace Bridge and cross back over to the US into Blaine in order send their kids to school or access medical care.
Him preferring to live there is a huge red flag that he has absolutely zero intention of ever living in Canada.
Fair. Maybe it was a team he couldn’t get excited about. I’d at least talk to him, you never know. I also don’t know if he’s the right coach though. We want Cassidy’s systems with Torts’ personality
The Canes doing the Storm Surge on Vegas ice on the Vegas logo was delicious to watch
What made Nurse release his limited no trade clause? Anybody know?
Wanted to? Pressured to? Disgruntled? Unappreciated? What do the other team leaders have to say?
I feel it is highly unlikely he really wanted a trade, and when these things are forced there is often resentful feelings from others as well.
There were an awful lot of rumours and I imagine that’s not fun, and a likelihood he was going next year regardless. Peace and quiet
He’d been asked the year before and was going to be asked again. The risk is that he would have substantially less control over his destination next year and it would really suck playing the whole year here knowing they want you out. I’m assuming that some core players either explicity or implicitly have let it be known they don’t think they can win with his money on the books.
Or he just really, really doesn’t want to play for Babcock.
The Oilers had apparently tried trading him throughout the season and were not successful.
He and his agent must have been aware of that and are attempting to have some control over r the process. sis their right.
An article came out from Spec basically saying the team didn’t want him anymore and that they were going to ask him to waive his NMC (or already had).
Thank you
Yes, I understand what the team management wanted. Was just curious what the leadership wanted as they were tight. Its a business and some might think “it is what it is”
Or others might say we want him in the room. Or McDavid saying he left $$ on the table not for Stan to sign another Frederic but for Stan to keep the leadership group together.
Was just curious.
He has more control over his destination this year than he will next year.
The Oilers are back on the decline. The sooner one leaves a sinking ship, the better the likely outcome.
John Carlson not retiring to Anaheim.
I don’t think he is a good fit for the Oilers given much of his value is on the PP but I think he remains a substantial top 4 RD if Murphy isn’t looking like a good re-sign.
Of course, Carlson is likely double the cap commitment and a completely different player than Murphy and I don’t see a great fit.
I also don’t think he wants to play in Canada.
“I’ve had good discussions with Pat,” Carlson’s agent Rick Curran told LeBrun for The Athletic on Tuesday. “I told him how much John enjoyed his time in Anaheim.
But his preference is to return and play in the East, closer to family and the familiarity with it. Pat was naturally disappointed but completely understood.”
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/article/carlson-wont-return-to-ducks-prefers-to-play-in-eastern-conference/
There are only 30 UFA RHD and I’d suggest that less than 5 are a fit for the Oilers at 2RHD when looking at need, skill & price.
With Carlson reportedly seeking a $10 million deal, I expect there will be very few teams that can/will pony up and his desire to play in the EC restricts that even further.
Perhaps Washington brings him back since they have more than $3 million in cap space.
$30 million
I had a good laugh at Vegas. All their nonsense and I love it how they lost in the finals. As we know, its heartbreak and Im glad they got a serving.
We Oiler fans and our all too often circus do not get many laughs in on the Carolina or Vegas organizations.
Im sure I missed a lot of discussion. But my takeaway was that like the Oilers vs Florida, the Knights had more talent than Carolina. It comes down to how that talent plays, and how the supporting cast plays. Size, strength and the tactics to win. Coaching plays a huge part in deploying not just the right players but the right game plan.
Earlier this year I called the Hurricanes Robots in their ability to play such a consistent, steady, mistake free yet still high pressure game. And do it over and over.
Oilers were winning on sheer talent.
I don’t think Canes are the exact template, and Oilers still have the aces, but there is learning here. Oilers need better deployment. They need the right coach.
One takeaway is that they’ll need to be doing extensive endurance work if they want to play like the Canes.
Or build a team that can roll 4 lines with 3-5min diff in 5v5 ice time. Granted, that is very tough to do when you’re this top heavy and have limited impact ELCs bubbling under:
Drai $14M
Mc $12.5M
Bouch $10.5M
Nurse $9.25M
44.5% of 2026 projected cap
Very true. Edmonton fourth liners did not need a lot of endurance.
Channel Brian Burke:
Identify SJ as a trade down candidate. Nurse going there is probably ideal like:
Nurse, 2026 2nd, 2028 1st, Akey (everything must go!) for Couture and 2nd overall. Retain a milly on Nurse to make it even plus 3 years relief.
But that’s probably not enough.
Rangers @5, Zibanejad would be great but full NMC. On a short term maybe, not with 4 years left. Lafreniere doesn’t make sense.
Hawks @4. Maybe. They need to spend money and have 1 actual defencemen and 2 young men with talent that need coverage. Nurse can munch minutes and take licks. not sure he’d move for that. If you get 4 then move up to 2 to San Jose and then wrap it up with…..
Trade up to 1st with Toronto
Celebrini is gonna cost alot soon. Get him some defenders (we’ve seen Hall for Larsson for a GM under a barrel with his superstar). Nurse has value for the right team. Sharks can just take Reid and call it a day Bouch style but if they’d rather Dougie Hamilton it than wait for Reid have at it.
With the 1st pick, Oilers select Gavin Mckenna.
The Sharks have their left side all but settled.
They need a #1RD in the worst way.
While Eric Pohklamp is a very promising prospect, at age 22, he’ll likely need some time to get up to speed.
Chase Reid…come on down (after a year at NCAA Michigan)
I don’t know if Bowman can bulldoze people the way Burke did. Maybe we should hire Georges Laraque as AGM and have him pay some other GMs a “little visit”
I missed the part about McDavid or Draisaitl is included in exchange for the first overall pick.
I think you should temper your expectations for what a return for Nurse will look like.
I think Chicago would move 4 with Nurse being a piece of the puzzle.
Then you’re just flipping 4 for 2 adding Couture. 1 is a cinch when Toronto actively wants the Dman.
Nurse at 8M for a Chicago team that needs defencemen is not fully insane, just crazy.
I believe other teams can offer more.
Let me be clear, none of these are expectations. This was to get the creative juices flowing. I specifically avoided Linus Howard specifically for this.
Carlo almost became 6, there are GMs that dumb. Less than there used to be.
Nurse is only two years removed from being a 75th percentile defenceman as per J Fresh.
I think a rest/reset combined with the right coaching gets him back up there and perhaps even higher. The raw skills are not deteriorating; NHL edge has him way up there in top skating speed.
A lot of raw emotions and with that a need for a scapegoat. Nurse was quite good with Murphy; in this case the hate is misplaced.
If the lineup can be lengthened with Nuge and Howard bolstering the middle six, I suspect Nurse’s fancies will improve.
I have come around on Nurse.
He is overpaid but I think many of his fancies are a function of deployment. He get tough assignments and has often played with poor partners and depth forwards.
If he played with a decent partner in a more structured system his fancies would turn around. Also, despite his limitations, numerous coaches see him as a difference maker, as reflected in his Toi. He is miscast as a shutdown defender.
I think it’s time for both sides to move on but Nurse definitely has value and Bowman should not just give him away.
Really it comes down to his cap hit. He was going to get moved at some point the moment that contract was signed because it’s really cap inefficient, especially after Bouch emerged. He’s not a top level D but gets paid like one. They can’t get deeper with him on the books
Canes had cap inefficiency with Kotkaniemi and still won. Nurse was not the problem in the playoffs.
Lot of faith in Walman. Can he even stay healthy? He came back and was getting pulverized.
Nurse is a good bet to play 80 games.
But they aren’t top heavy and don’t have a contract over 10M. I agree it’s risky but Walman is a good player if healthy. My take is Nurse should go, and as many are saying they better have a back up plan for LD
Thing is the Canes only had ONE cap inefficiency .
Some teams have multiples.
The Oilers had 5 if you count the Jack Campbell buyout.
If Nurse rebounds it is a tough hole to fill. 75th percentile performance is solid, high end second pair.
For this season and last, Nurse’s most common forward line mates were Podz and Drai…..
And? He played significantly more with the dregs than Bouchard IIRC
and?
your comment was:
I noted his common forwards which does not line up with the above statement.
I’m not sure why Bouchard is brought up now – that comparison was not part of the point.
I would note, if you want to go there, that Bouchard played 36.1% TOI vs. elites this season and Nurse 31.9%. Prior season Nurse was less than 25% TOI vs. elites.
Yes it does. Read the below post by Lenny.
Lenny’s posts are one but my post, and discussion, were in relation to your initial post which is not the same conversation.
Thats a function of us not having a consistent 3C or 4C so Nurse’s minutes are spread across a bunch of different bottom 6 Cs. Nurse plays way more with the bottom 6 than Bouchard does. The last two years:
Bouchard with McDavid or Drai – 1700 mins (69%)
without – 762 mins
Nurse with McDavid or Drai – 1160 mins (42%)
without – 1633 mins
And Bouch’s results with the bottom 6 are actually worse:
Bouch without McDrai – 41% goals
Nurse without McDrai – 43% goals
So you’re saying he’s two years older and closer to the wheels falling off.
He’s paid handsomely to take on the tough competition … he can’t do it anymore.
Sell him now while you still can.
Yup. He’s the 10th highest paid defenceman, and the 30th highest paid skater in the league. He took up 11.2% of the available cap space in 2022-2023, 11.1% of the available cap space in 2023-2024, 10.5% of the available cap space in 2024-2025, and 9.7% of the available cap space in 2025-2026.
IMO, in a salary cap system where teams have a finite amount of money to spend on players, the expectations for a player taking up this much cap space should be that they are one of the best players in the league, be in contention for best player at their position, and have games where they are arguably the best player in the game. Nurse has had more games where he was arguably the worst player in the game than games where he was arguably the best player in the game.
Interesting that Nuge had a better xGF than Savoie in that 1LW spot. In any case, I agree bumping Nuge down creates more length in the lineup. It’s also a step toward better load management, keeping 93 fresher for the playoffs.
xGF indicates creating, but at some point GF have to happen, have to get it in the net
Confirmed Torts is NOT returning to Vegas.
Wha?????
Wow, the Kniggets got their money’s worth for Torts. Presumably he was just paid for the final 8 games of the regular season only, as I don’t believe he would be paid anything additional for the 20+ playoff games he coached.
Do you think there’s any chance they’re thinking they may circle back to Cassidy and that’s why they weren’t giving anyone permission to speak to him?
Seen previously they are supposedly going to promote their AHL coach.
The Knights essentially assumed the rest of Tort’s contract with Philly.
I would rather the Oilers sign Torts than MB. The whole MB thing looks highly risky. He seems to have a long track record as a bully, not sure he can change his stripes.
A big difference is players like Torts. Though I wasn’t that impressed with the power down in the finals. My goodness can you imagine the entrenched Edmonton media having to deal with him?
Torts absolutely hates coaching in Canadian cities.
When he coached in Vancouver, he actually resided in Point Roberts WA. which caused some friction with the team since he often missed morning skates etc.
While it’s only about a 40km to Rogers, the drive can take considerable time since traffic is a nightmare.
Re: Torts
No retorts.
Sportsnet has just announced NHL games will no longer be broadcast on CBC.
RIP HNIC.
Wow. Sad day.
Another great job by Bettman. The guy is supposed to be growing the sport but instead is making games increasingly more difficult to watch.
Sorry, I know you’re a big fan of his.
Remember back in the day when the NHL was bigger than the NBA?
This is a Sportsnet decision not a Bettman one. Sportsnet negotiated this exit strategy from CBC when it paid first $5.2 Billion and then $7.7 Billion for the broadcast rights.
If you need to blame someone for CBC not retaining NHL broadcast rights, I guess you could blame the Federal Liberals for not stumping up the cash to compete with the likes of Rogers. Personally, as a taxpayer, I’m ok with our public broadcaster avoiding that bidding war when I can just change the channel to watch the game.
I’m sad about the end of HNIC on CBC. I agree with you about how our public broadcaster should be spending our money. There’s a lot of hockey out there that’s fun to watch and is more community driven. I’d love to see the CHL on CBC, for example.
Never mind Hockey CBC better set aside some taxpayer money for all the scandals they are being sued for. Only but a few nursing homes and Canadian airports have CBC on. Nobody that I know of intentionally watches CBC unless the Irish Rovers-Tommy Hunter reruns are on.
The management of MotherCorp really is quite a travesty, especially when you consider how badly they’ve dropped the ball on giving Canadian film and television talent a visible platform.
The BBC regularly churns out intelligent, quality programming while the best Canadian talent moves to the US because there simply is not a tenable equivalent to the BBC in this country.
The end result is Canadian culture drains away. The Yanks and Brits get film and television programming about themselves. We get progressively Americanized.
I see film students create excellent content on a shoestring budgets on Utube. CBC continues to cram down a terrible product on billions of dollar budgets, it’s probably on purpose. The amount of money they are gifted to solely push the liberal agenda is comparable to one party countries comrade.
It’s the systemic downside of being a government corporation imo. CBC is not entrepreneurial or innovative in any way, shape or form. The user experience on their streaming app is abysmal.
It’s run by bureaucrats suckling at the trough, not talented people with great stories to tell and promote, and the skill to execute them.
When the league revenue got big it was over. For me the CBC has become such a disaster I don’t care. It’s not the CBC and HNIC of 15-20 years ago
I wonder if we’ve seen the last broadcast of Ron MacLean with this Final? Ron did an acknowledgement segment for Canadian first responders during the final game. In many ways, it felt like a soft tribute to the segments Don Cherry regularly did for Canadian police and armed forces. I wondered at the time if it was a subtle hat tip from Ron to his longtime foil on his way out the door.
Hard to say but after his ‘roofies’ foot in mouth I wondered if that might do it
Didn’t Bettman negotiate the deal with Rogers to give them the power to make this decision as owners of Sportsnet?
All I know is, there is a growing trend where hockey is becoming increasingly difficult to watch thanks to these broadcast deals that Bettman has been involved in negotiating.
All sports leagues negotiate their broadcast agreements and like most businesses, they sell them to the highest bidder. Bettman represents the owners’ interest and this is what they want.
The bigger factor here imo is the younger generations cutting the cable. Terrestrial broadcast platforms are dying out. Sports rights will increasingly be bought piecemeal by streamers. NFL games were on NBC, ABC/ESPN, Amazon, and Netflix last year.
We’re actually lucky in Canada atm that you can still watch almost all of the Oilers games with a single subscription. This coverage will become more fractured over time, as evidenced by the NHL now having a package with Prime.
“The bigger factor here imo is the younger generations cutting the cable. Terrestrial broadcast platforms are dying out. Sports rights will increasingly be bought piecemeal by streamers. NFL games were on NBC, ABC/ESPN, Amazon, and Netflix last year.”
This is where Bettman dropped the ball. I don’t think he needed to be a prophet to see that streaming services are increasingly becoming the go to service for younger (and older) generations and those tea leaves could have been read years ago even.
It seems like it was very shortsighted to stick with the traditional tv/cable approach and to lock into that Rogers deal until 2037-2038(!).
“We’re actually lucky in Canada atm that you can still watch almost all of the Oilers games with a single subscription. This coverage will become more fractured over time, as evidenced by the NHL now having a package with Prime.”
I’ve gone from being able to either watch games on Sportsnet (paid) or free on CBC to having to watch games on Sportsnet (paid) or Prime (paid). I don’t know if I would call that lucky.
I won’t get into how poor of a quality of service Sportsnet provides, because I don’t want to digress.
Hockey games being on free TV is a remnant of a bygone era when hockey games didn’t feature rink board advertising, luxury suites, and embedded gambling content. These are multi-billion dollar businesses now and they’re monetized accordingly.
I too miss the days when sports was a more egalitarian pastime and a mechanic could sit alongside a doctor and both enjoy the experience. Those days are dead however and it’s just simple supply/demand that killed them.
What has always concerned me about this is the intrinsic classism that drives this. First the wealthy wanted to push the blue collar fans out of the lower bowl. Now they want to push them out of the building altogether and make them “2nd tier fans” that only watch on TV. I loathe things like the Sky Lounge and Chairman’s Club in Rogers. These things are spun as VIP “perks” but in reality it is just an elitist form of segregation so the wealthy can peacock without having to deal with the masses.
We’re watching the enshittification of the NHL happen right before our eyes.
Every generation gets its chance to run the show and improve the culture. It will be interesting to see if the younger generations that coined the term “enshittification” will do any better with their hands on the wheel.
Eh, Bettman is 74 and the person who coined the term enshittification is 53. I would feel comfortable with Bettman stepping aside to let someone more in touch and in their 50s take over the wheel.
When Gary Bettman took over as Commish, the average NHL franchise was worth $50-$75 Million. Today the average franchise is worth $2.2 Billion. This is nearly a 3000% increase.
If I had to hazard a guess. I’d say the NHL Owners are ecstatic with Bettman and he likely has the job as long as he wants it.
When Gary took the chair, the NHL was a distant fourth in popularity amongst the four major professional sports. Now it’s right there with baseball and basketball, with all 3 a distant second to the NFL colossus.
There was a time where the CFL had a better product than the AFL-NFL. It’s all about marketing the sale of Gretzky to Hollywood kickstarted the interest but Bettman has year after year increased popularity in the States. Hockey is by far the most expensive sport to have your children involved in yet Bettman has tapped into the growth of the NHL not only in the States but overseas as well.
Agreed. Part of the NHL’s success under Bettman is the league has successfully positioned itself as a sport with appeal for an educated and affluent consumer.
Despite the easy criticisms of Bettman, the NHL recognized early on the value of digital experiences including analytics and on demand video.
Markets like San Jose, Nashville, Raleigh, and the return to Minnesota, have all been instrumental in building the NHL brand with the collegiate consumer.
Despite all the doomsaying in Canada, the NHL is doing VERY well. With the cap firmly established now, there is no real threat of labour disruption and both the owners and players are printing money atm.
Since the 90s, the NHL has definitely grown but not as much as the NFL, NBA or MLB who have outpaced the NHL.
“NHL franchise was worth $50-$75 Million. Today the average franchise is worth $2.2 Billion. This is nearly a 3000% increase.”
The average NHL team valuation in the 90s (going back to 98) was 125 million (according tofanancialsports) and now the average team valuation is $2.2 billion.
Compared to the NBA where, also in the 90s, teams were 150 million that grew to $3.8 billion
I’m sure the owners are ecstatic that he has grown the sport, but compared to the other sports they are behind.
The NBA averaged 19.6 million views per game for their finals compared to the NHL’s 4.8 million views. This is during a period where a lot of NBA fans are frustrated with the state of the game. You could say it’s because the NBA had the Knicks in the finals and the Spurs with 7’5 Wemby which is fair, but the NHL has had the worlds best player in the playoffs for multiple finals over a few seasons and 4.8 million is still the average. Even if you had the 2 biggest fanbase NHL teams in the finals I doubt they would get 19.6 million views.
Again, if I were an owner I would be happy with my NHL return. But, as a fan of the NHL, I am not as happy with the product.
The question is whether 10 years from now the owners will be happy with where the NHL is at after Gary made some short sighted negotations and plans.
The alleged unhappiness of the NHL fans with the product is not translating into a corresponding loss of revenues, viewership, or attendance. All are growing and that’s all that a sports leagues can really aspire to.
The NHL was a complete afterthought in the US before Gary. They’ve grown their market significantly since then. Given that it’s the sport with the greatest barrier to entry for youth to play AND the players are much more challenging to market than the NBA and MLB (they all wear helmets and are notoriously bland in postgame interviews), i honestly think they’re doing a fantastic job.
Hockey is a true winter sport that a massive percentage of Americans will never play growing up, but it’s now entrenched in the Sunbelt as a popular spectator sport. It wasn’t that long ago that was thought to be impossible.
You can’t just look at where they are now. You also have to consider where they started from. When I was a kid, the average American viewed hockey as comparable to wrestling!
I made a post but it got eaten by spam and unfortunately, did not save it.
I’ve gone to around 10 home Vegas games the fan base is organic and surprisingly knowledgeable. Vegas loves their team especially Reeves- Fluery-Pietrangelo. Who would have thought that hockey would have been a huge hit in Vegas, obviously Gary did.
Get good players, keep good players is a mantra that has been as true as long as there has been hockey.
Losing a player like Nuge just because is not a good idea.
Get good players on good contracts, keep good players on good contracts should be the mantra in the cap era.
Get young good players that are willing to go through a wall then trade good beat up veterans for more young good players. Continue with cycle.
And…they’re off!
TRADE: We’ve acquired defenceman Emil Andrae, goaltender Samuel Ersson and a third-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for goaltender Joseph Woll and defenceman Simon Benoit
https://x.com/mapleleafs/status/2066910217674297681?s=61
Woll is a better goalie than Ersson, but is injured a lot. Andrae and Benoit are a wash. The third rounder is not enough to make up the downgrade in net. All the Leafs have is an injury prone Stolarz in net now.
Leafs fans will be pissed.
Good way to start the morning.
Hildeby put up good numbers last year. I’m surprised they took a goalie back in the deal because this doesn’t solve the three goalie problem unless they aren’t signing Ersson or they plan on waiving him and putting him in the minors to be their #3
Ersson is a RFA with arbitration rights.
The Leafs will flip him if they can but otherwise won’t qualify him.
Chayka was very good at identifying goalies in Arizona. He acquired Kuemper and Raanta while drafting and developing Adin Hill.
He’ll have a target in mind for goaltender. Maybe Hill?
Between Nurse and Keith, Stan Bowman had a lot of input into Ken Holland’s defense. I would like to see this collaboration continue, maybe without Stan overpaying on his own blueline this time.
I’m getting cold feet about moving Nurse. They wont replace him. A contender would know how to utilize this asset.
Walman is his replacement, and if they can keep Murphy he fills the role they wanted Nurse to fill. The risk is health, but Walman is a better player than DN
I think the Oilers will prioritize a 2RHD and #5D if they can move Nurse. I agree that Walman is better than DN and isn’t really value on their third pairing. If they were to keep Nurse, I don’t know how much would be available for Murphy/2RHD
Is there any evidence Walman is better than Nurse? He has some strengths, but as a whole over a long body of work I do not see him better.
I think that everyone hopes he is better.
Certainly not as durable.
Well he’s more skilled with the puck. For me when healthy he’s a more impactful player. Of course a big risk there
Im worried that Nurse moving out upsets the stability of the room. Connor / Leon are very quiet, they do not get pumped up to motivate, they seem calmly efficient. Most players need stimulus and the Oilers are lacking.
Who picks up this role on defence?
Who picks up this role in the forwards?
Funny how Bowman is not trotting out the players now to gain their approval.
I am also worried, I do not see a good outcome.
For me they need to get over things like that. Good teams in sports evolve, especially if they can’t quite get over. I hope they mature a bit and focus less on each other and more on what they have to be doing to win
The Canes have gone through core players, like moving Pesce on
For example they wouldn’t have won Cup 5 if they couldn’t get past the dirty Gretz trade. Way worse and more greasy than what we see these days. Everyone can still be friends and hang in cottage country during summer, do skates etc
Any team could utilize Nurse, just as the Oilers have – he’s a good NHL d-man but he still underperforms his cap hit and that’s created a problem for the Oilers.
Teams will want him at a $7MM cap hit and even give up a positive asset for him, it appears.
Will the Oilers be able to use $7MM plus the asset return to make the team better and off-set the loss of Nurse and his minutes, role?
It’s almost impossible to project this off season until Nurse trade comes to fruition, but the rumoured reports of players waffling about signing/re-signing in Edmonton because of Babcock is possibly a bigger concern. I was one of the folks willing to give Babcock a chance initially, but as time passes I find my opinion changing.
MacPhee/Macrimmon thought they were throwing a grenade into our foxhole, and we promptly started trying to turn it into an atom bomb!
I think a lot depends on what comes of the Babcock investigation. Do I think Babcok is the right choice? no. However, I’d hire Bob Hartley (was won everywhere, killer instinct) and that is almost certainly the wrong choice as well.
Nuge over the last several years has become a much different player than he was in his first several years.
Nuge was defensive demon often striping pucks on the backtrack with a quick stick and feet. He could surprise many opposing puck carriers. He could provide good offensive and played a true 200 ft game.
Over the last few years he has declined and rarely has made a plus defensive play. They’re still there but once every few games rather than a few times a period or even shift.
Other than a few spikes back to previous levels like at the start of last season and a playoff series here or there he has become a top of circles to top of circles soft player.
Less minutes in a defined role (3c) he may surprise and return to his 2018 and prior Nuge type player. In that case he could become once again a very valuable player….. Stall like.
Staal is 6’4″ 220 and a face-off winning demon.
Right. I was more referring to value to his team as opposed to -player to player -type comparison.
Stall in the last few years by my viewings (although not many) looked a lot more like Henrique from this past year than a conn smythe winner. Obviously he still had some more to give.
Im hopeful that Nuge can be more than Henrique even if it takes till playoffs.
Agree re Nuge. And his contract is not a burden. It was cheap before but with cap going up its even cheaper. Backlund in Calgary has been earning that amount for a number of years as 3rd line centre.
Backlund is slotted at 1C and earns only $3.25 million.
Nuge $5.125 million
He was making $5 mil and was 3c. He is only 1C now because they are so bad.
Exactly. Backlund would be a 1C or 2C on very few teams in the league. Calgary, Vancouver, etc.
Having a $3.25 mill 1C that isn’t on a rookie deal isn’t something to aspire to.
He was 2C under his last contract and his TOI was almost the same as 1C Kadri.
Neither Backlund nor Kadri are or ever have been true first line centres on a team with Cup aspirations.
Kadri was at best a 2nd line centre on the Avs.
Backlund would be a 3rd line centre on the Oilers, Avs, Canes, Knights, Lighting, Panthers, and Stars.
Both of those guys are on the wrong side of 30, and are closer to having their wheels fall off than RNH is.
Again, Kadri would be a 1C on very few teams in the league. Calgary, Vancouver maybe?
In the last 4 years RNH has scored 276 points to Backlund’s “1C” 170. RNH is 33, Backlund is 37. Thinking Backlund is value for a 1C is probably why Calgary can’t make the playoffs.
I don’t think for a minute that Backlund is a 1C however the poster asserted that Backlund was being paid the same as Nuge while playing 3C.
Neither of those statements is true.
Adgain, thats as a Flame. Any other team he is 3C.
He’s not playing on “any other team” and he is NOT being paid $5.125 million.
Don’t be ridiculous – Backlund played the 2nd most of all Flame forwards last season (second to Kadri who is gone).
I’ll take Nuge at his $5MM over the 37 year old Backlund.
Good Grief.
That wasn’t the question.
There is speculation that Dickinson will get around $5MM.
Nuge’s contract remains a value contract. He was very good for the first 2/5 of last season and then he fell off a cliff. I’ve heard some confidential reports of another hand/wrist injury.
Nuge is up and down from season to season with his 5 on 5 production, I predict a strong bounce-back even if he’s down the lineup for portions (he’ll see some top 6, we know that).