Friedman: Darnell Nurse requests a trade

[snipes]

For the teams that are interested in Nurse, he plays really well with quicker puck moving partners as the RD. I was thinking about this earlier.

He played excellent with Tyson Barrie and was quite steady with Troy Stecher. Smaller, quicker D who can move the puck Nurse works really well with plus he sticks up for his D partner and teammates.

I really do think Nurse could have a big rebound year in the right circumstances. He’s a good athlete, strong skater, 6’4’ and he’s tough. Good teammate by all accounts and great in the community which GMs and teams do value that stuff moreso in hockey than other sports. It was hilarious when someone earlier in the thread tried to imply some odd character issue which has never been the case with Nurse, he’s a really good person off the ice and in the room.

 

[Empoleon8771]

You are way off.

Nurse has significantly more value than Dion Phaneuf had at the time of his trade to Ottawa.

You're not even close.

Based on what, exactly? Because the two trade situations are basically identical when you consider age, player/play style, contract, NTC and team situations (in terms of both teams wanting to move on).

It is as apples to apples as you can get for a trade comparison.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

This is the biggest lose-lose I can imagine for the Oilers.

In almost no scenario will they be able to offload Nurse without significant retention, likely 50%, which means roughly $4.625M comes off the books, giving the Oilers approximately $19M in cap space this offseason. On paper that sounds great, but they only have 8 full-time NHL forwards under contract (I’m not adding Howard, Samanski, or Clattenburg to that list, as they haven’t graduated from the AHL).

That means they’re likely going to have to sign another 5-6 players just to have a full roster up front.

If the rest of their UFAs hit the market, they also need a goalie (lol) and two defensemen.

If each player averages $2M, which I don’t think is outrageous given where the cap is, that takes up $16M of their $19M in cap space.

As useless as Nurse has been in his current role, he’s still a top-4 defender. Who on this team is going to replace the 22 minutes a night he was playing? As bad as he is, his departure makes the defence significantly worse.

There is no one on the UFA market the Oilers can afford to replace him with. The only way I can see them moving enough salary to afford any of those players is if RNH is traded, which would obliterate their centre depth beyond McDavid and Draisaitl.

This is the biggest blunder of the McDavid era by far.

I think the retention on Nurse will be a lot less but I agree with your main point. The Edmonton D is already not that good for a team hoping to contend. Take away Nurse even with all of his warts and it will be even weaker. I’m also not sold on Walman as a top 4 defender.
Plus at the end of the day Bowman has shown that he usually just wastes any extra cap space he gets by acquiring players who don’t move the needle. See the Frederic, Walman and Jarry acquisitions/signings for example.

 

[Czechboy]

How is he useless if he's a top 4 defender, eating minutes, and his departure makes the team worse?

Those are all useful things.

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

 

[snipes]

Based on what, exactly? Because the two trade situations are basically identical when you consider age, player/play style, contract, NTC and team situations (in terms of both teams wanting to move on).

It is as apples to apples as you can get for a trade comparison.

Phaneuf had cement boots at the time, Nurse is a strong skater which is probably his best attribute that immediately makes this different in this era of hockey.

 

[saska sault]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

Someone will get Nurse and be happy they have a veteran defenseman who can play big minutes, they will be really happy if he can be slotted correctly and not relied upon to be a top guy.

 

[snipes]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

Agreed. He’s not a perfect D man but he’s not some horrible dog shit player that’s a dumb narrative.

His contract is too much but he’s absolutely a top 4 D man that can eat difficult minutes. With the cap going up that becomes less and less of an issue for teams with space.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

For shits and giggles: which team says no to a Nurse for Letang swap straight up?

Pittsburgh ?

Letang is cheaper and ends sooner

 

[FerrisRox]

Based on what, exactly? Because the two trade situations are basically identical when you consider age, player/play style, contract, NTC and team situations (in terms of both teams wanting to move on).

It is as apples to apples as you can get for a trade comparison.

If you think Darnell Nurse, right now, is the same calibre of player as Dion Phaneuf was at the time of his trade, with similar trade value, I don't really know what to tell you.

It's not close. The Leafs had to shop around for a very long time to find anyone that would even take Phaneuf.

The Oilers will have their choice of suitors.

It's not close to being the same thing.

 

[Czechboy]

Agreed. He’s not a perfect D man but he’s not some horrible dog shit player that’s a dumb narrative.

His contract is too much but he’s absolutely a top 4 D man that can eat difficult minutes. With the cap going up that becomes less and less of an issue for teams with space.

I will legit miss him. I won't miss that caphit though. Him, Bouch and Walman making 27M next season is insane.

My fear remains that Bowman will screw it up somehow. I love Nurse. I can't stand Bowman as a GM.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

Why would his new team love him when Oilers fans have been complaining about his play ever since he signed his contract?
I suspect who ever picks him up will be happy with some of his play but will continue to be frustrated by the same brain farts that drove Oiler fans crazy over the years. Those faults aren’t going to just disappear at this stage of his career.

 

[kilowatt]

Please not Los Angeles. Anywhere but Los Angeles.

 

[57special]

What idiot GM is going to get suckered into trading for this overpaid, mistake filled, disappointment of a Dman? Oilers fans will be dancing in the streets if they can dump his contract.

 

[Jumptheshark]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

you need to read the oiler board when he is on the ice. It is a narrative pushed by comments on the oiler board where you have had posters say if the oilers waived him no one would pick him up. The new problem will be the oilers replacing his 20 to 25 minutes a night when he is moved. Oiler fans are already turning on Walman and his 7 mill contract

 

[ElysiumAB]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

I said in another post, Nurse went from a disaster of a player to a great piece, the moment Ekholm got there and took over a large part of his role. Once Nurse was slotted down the the lineup a bit he really excelled (meaning, barely heard his name, as opposed to him making blunders and taking penalties).

Unfortunately, Ekholm really fell off for a long time.

 

[Czechboy]

you need to read the oiler board when he is on the ice. It is a narrative pushed by comments on the oiler board where you have had posters say if the oilers waived him no one would pick him up. The new problem will be the oilers replacing his 20 to 25 minutes a night when he is moved. Oiler fans are already turning on Walman and his 7 mill contract

The no one would pick him up if waived argument is another HF thing I hate lol

Most players making 10m a season won't be picked up mid season if waived.

Picking a guy up on waivers means you take the full contract. Who has 10M floating around in cap space in and an open roster spot mid season?

So I fully agree he would not be picked up. Lots of players wouldn't.

I do agree that he can't be your best dman though! He's a good support piece that is paid too much. If he made 5M all oiler fans would love him and he'd be in high demand.

I've said I'll give till xmas to shit on the new walman contract. I like him a lot to be honest. I think he was miscast at 2RD with nurse when he's a LD and then his injuries.

If he starts at 2LD and is healthy.. I think he will have a great season!

But I don't love the contract and think bowman overshot with it... Again. Like the player... Meh on contract. Hoping we get Murphy back and they are paired together.

 

[Canovin]

Some team is going to pay a 1st for Nurse

 

[Fatass]

Agreed. He’s not a perfect D man but he’s not some horrible dog shit player that’s a dumb narrative.

His contract is too much but he’s absolutely a top 4 D man that can eat difficult minutes. With the cap going up that becomes less and less of an issue for teams with space.

I like to say that D, who play like Nurse, are bottom four (instead of top four).

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Some team is going to pay a 1st for Nurse

Edmonton?

 

[Old Boys Club]

Edmonton?

Likely Vancouver, seems like a GM Aquilini type move.

 

[Walkingthroughforest]

How is he useless if he's a top 4 defender, eating minutes, and his departure makes the team worse?

Those are all useful things.

I don’t think anything I said was unclear. Nurse plays top pairing minutes in Edmonton which is a role he is not suitable for.

In saying that, there are effective elements to his game and if he was on a team that could better manage his minutes and play him in a second pairing role I think he’d be a much more valuable player.

My point is that Edmonton would be losing a top 4 defender and they would not be replacing him with another one.

 

[Cool Hand Puke]

Nurse has played almost 800 games of NHL hockey, and has been a top 4 D since day 1. Again, you just say shit.

Now Edmontons fans are trying to drum up business and value from him. Comical.

 

[Walkingthroughforest]

This notion that he sucks, drives me crazy.lol

It's an HF narrative. His contract sucks. He doesn't.

I stand by he will be top 4, second pair and playing 20 a night. I actually think his new team will love him. Philly for instance. He'd fit right in.

Definitely not what I said, but selective reading seems to be the norm with these discussions

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

I am just glad Edmonton fans are seeing Nurse as a solid top 4 D man. Ironically it only happened when he wanted to be traded.

 

[Czechboy]

Some team is going to pay a 1st for Nurse

Only if we include McDavid.lol