1. There's not a lot of teams that have a space $6mil in cap space laying around. So taking back a cap dump is incredibly reasonable.
2. With taking on Nurse's contract comes risk. You have to still hope that he plays up to the contract. It's slightly less risk if it's at $6mil but the Oilers are the ones selling the damaged goods.
3. There's also an aspect of "why does a team want to help Edmonton unless they are also getting something back?" Now, yeah, if someone is asking for Nurse @6mil, top prospects, and a 1st for several cap dumps, go ahead and ignore that. I think what most are thinking is a "crap for crap" trade with Edmonton having to pay a bit more due to contract imbalances.
The problem with your argument, and it pervades these boards, is that Nurse isn't crap.
/rant on
A host of posters offer garbage for Darnell Nurse and bash him endlessly and they've never seen him play. They just read these boards and posts from other fans who have never seen him play and maybe the same on twitter and think they understand what kind of player he is. They don't.
Oiler fans eviscerate him for other reasons.
If Nurse was paid less Oiler fans (and others) wouldn't dunk on him like they do. The truth of the matter is Edmonton is a blue collar town and when they see a player get paid a lot they have little patience for any sort of mistake. A lot of Oiler fans, and local media, will make life hell for a player here if they feel:
a) they aren't working hard or
b) getting paid too much or
c) god forbid both
Nurse works hard, but he makes some bonehead errors at times. Other times he is solid and plays with a mean streak. He'll never win the Norris but he is a top 4 defenseman. The real crime he committed is that he took the Oilers to the cleaners with his contract. And whose fault was that? Kenny Holland and the Oilers brass, that's who.
They kept bridging Nurse instead of extending him. Then Klefbom gets hurt and is gone indefinitely. So who do the Oilers have to log heavy minutes? Nurse is their only option and he was a pending UFA. So he got paid an insane amount for what he brings. Full NMC. Full Term. In a cap world that is entirely the fault of the organization.
As of the current day posters who offer cap dumps and healthy scratches for Nurse ignore, or are ignorant of, the fact that Nurse once played top minutes for this team before Ekholm arrived. Hell, Nurse played 60 minutes in a double overtime playoff game. Guys who are garbage don't do that.
So no, terrible offer for a player that, for all his faults, is a decent defenseman isn't doing the Oilers any favors.
There, I said it. Nurse is a decent defenseman.
/rant off
