This in from NHL insider Frank Seravalli on his Frankly Hockey Show, news that there's nothing imminent on the Darnell Nurse trade front.
Said Seravalli: “On Darnell Nurse, a lot of people have been curious in Edmonton, what happens next. He gave the Oilers three teams to work with, and best as I can understand the Nurse situation right now, nothing on the front burner, and Nurse, I think, is a tertiary option for a couple of those teams. Not that they're not interested, but I think they're trying to make other things happen first, and if they can't that they're going to come back to Darnell Nurse and that file later on. So, what I would suggest is, unless something changes drastically today, I don't see Darnell Nurse being moved before Friday night.”
Context from Other Insiders
Along with Seravalli's comment today, Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now has said several times this week that Nurse could well be back with the Oilers this coming season. Stauffer also suggested it would help to move Nurse if the player was willing to expand the list of teams he would accept as a new home.
Impact on Oilers' Off-Season Plans
The Nurse trade is key to the Oilers' off-season. It's the big trade that has to happen to free up cap space. If he moves without much cap retention, this gives Edmonton options. If they can't move out Nurse, they're limited in what they can do. At the same time, Nurse is a solid Top 4 NHL defenseman in the regular season, so Edmonton doesn't have to swallow any kind of poison pill here. The NHL trade market is not bursting with Top 4 defensemen who can be easily acquired. There may also be hope in Edmonton that Nurse can improve his game here with new coach Mike Babcock in charge.
Potential Alternative Trade Targets
It's also the case that Carolina has mentioned it might be open to trading big left-shot defenseman Alexander Nikishin, 24. Teams like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia may well be keeping their powder dry until that's resolved, as Nikishin would be a welcome, though extremely expensive, addition to their teams.
