The Edmonton Oilers partnership with Darnell Nurse has come to an end. On July 1, the first day of NHL Free Agency, the Oilers sent Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks for Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp.
The Oilers did not keep any of Nurse’s salary of $9.25 million, which was the goal from the beginning, when Nurse requested a trade and moved the list to three teams: the Philadelphia Flyers, the Boston Bruins, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. That list was extended to the San Jose Sharks, who kept calling for his services.
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday, July 1st with Steve Kouleas and Dennis Bernstein, and was asked how the Edmonton Oilers were able to move Darnell Nurse’s entire contract.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
Steve Kouleas: “Did you believe Nesi’s contract could be cleared entirely? What did the Oilers do with Nesi, Shakir Mukhamadullin and running back Ryan Shea, who had a great year last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins?”
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Dave Pagnotta: “It sounded Kooli, it sounded in the draft, and DB, you were with me as we were running around trying to get back to you, Kooli. It sounds like there was movement from Anaheim and San Jose, that they were willing to take a full hit on Nurse, and that the Pittsburghs, Bostons, and Philadelphia retention wanted to do so.
Then they had deals in a place that clearly didn’t exist from Edmonton’s point of view. They wanted to release as much as possible; they spent that money today (Wednesday), but that was the purpose. And when push came to shove, the Nurse finally decided, ‘Okay, look, this is going to be my best option. I’ll have to wave here and expand my list.’
They got the right contract with the Sharks and they got it out. Back to him, if he’s not willing to do that, it’s possible that one of the other teams will have to change their needs in a trade, or that, if this takes too long, he’ll have to start the season.
I think there was an understanding on both sides, on both the Oilers’ and Nurse’s sides, that the marriage was over. And let’s find you a new home and release all that pop.”
After the trade, Darnell Nurse admitted it was time to start over in San Jose. As mentioned, the Oilers signed Ryan Shea to a five-year, $20 million deal with an AAV of $4 million if they added Nurse’s salary.
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It was time for Darnell Nurse and the Edmonton Oilers to part ways. As Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito said about Sergei Bobrovsky going on, “Things happen where decisions are made, and people move on, and it’s part of our game.”
That is exactly what happened in this case. It was time for a new start for both the Edmonton Oilers and Darnell Nurse.
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