Oilers fans berate $74M Darnell Nurse for reportedly refusing to waive NMC to facilitate trade

Darnell Nurse is signed to $74,000,000 contract with the Edmonton Oilers. He has five years remaining on the contract with a no-movement clause attached till the end of the 2026-27 season followed by a no-trade clause.

While he has been one of the most important figures on the Oilers' blueline, his lack of consistency has concerned Oilers management, who are looking to update the roster after two straight Stanley Cup Finals losses.

NHL analyst Elliotte Friedman reported on his "32 Thoughts" podcast that the Oilers asked around the clubhouse for possible trades but were denied by Nurse and Adam Henrique about waiving their clauses.

“I think basically Edmonton went to a check with all their guys who had no trade clauses, who they would want to move and say, ‘Okay, how many of you are willing to go places?’ And (Viktor) Arvidson said he was, so he went. But, you know, Nurse, I don’t think he wants to go anywhere.

"(Adam) Henrique, I’m not convinced he wants to go anywhere. So that’s kind of where it ended up. They made it clear they liked being part of something where they can win, and they decided to stay, as is their right,” Friedman said.

This met the ire of the Oilers fans, who took to X to complain about Nurse adopting a selfish attitude.

"Know this….he is the least liked Oilers player by far. Overpaid and underachieving whose best skill is ringing the puck off the glass out of his D zone. A perennial puck watcher who gets lost in his own backyard," a fan wrote.

"Extremely selfish of Nurse. Moving him gives his friends a better chance at winning," another fan said.

"Nurse is far from "top d-man". SMH," a fan commented about the wording.

"Cancel all NMC from CBA in next negotiation FULL STOP!!!!," a fan opined.

"Then give back some money," another fan said.

"Of course. Selfish," a fan simply said.

It must be noted that Nurse has been a potent threat in five-on-five play for the Oilers. In the last regular season, he made 139 major contributions with just 140 mistakes in 1,492 minutes of ice time. That was significant in him having a strong defensive regular season.

However, in the playoffs, that average increased, as he made 58 mistakes in 463 minutes on ice and also -1.00 Grade A shots per 15 minutes.

Darnell Nurse staying put hurts the Oilers' chances of adding depth

The Oilers were seen as one of the contender teams in need of updating parts of the roster, including goaltender depth and a top-six forward. Trading away Viktor Arvidsson and Evander Kane led to some cap space, which Edmonton will use for Connor McDavid's upcoming extension.

However, the team was likely to add a major goalie and also look at probable options to improve the top six. They settled for Andrew Mangiapane, Curtis Lazar as positional players while also adding Matt Tomkins as a third goalie. Nurse's $9.25 million AAV could have been used to get a major name through free agency.