How did it come to this for Darnell Nurse and the Edmonton Oilers? Since Sportsnet’s Mark Spector sounded the train whistle to whisk the career Oiler out of town, it’s more of a reality than ever that Nurse has played his last game with the team that drafted him.

When I think back to the time when Nurse signed that contract in the summer of 2021, I distinctly remember the successful season he had prior.

I remember how every time he touched the puck, something positive happened. He was contributing to the flow of play, where it seemed like he could do no wrong. This is just my memory, but I was running the defence at the University of British Columbia at the time, and my fellow coach, Oilers alum Sven Butenschon, a lanky left-handed defenceman himself, would use clips of Nurse often with our own players. From the story here on Oilersnation when he signed:

This clip in particular stuck out to me.

Impressive! Particularly since, according to Spector, Nurse at least partially defines himself by his ability to put up points. Points are good, points mean goals, goals mean wins. Move the puck, and the offence will follow.

I also remember questioning why a defenceman who didn’t play on the first-unit power play was worth that much. Normally I’d rather jam lemons into my eyes instead of digging into the weeds of pro contracts and cap hits, but the summer Nurse signed his contract was the same summer the Carolina Hurricanes lost Dougie Hamilton to a briefcase filled with money. Hamilton signed in New Jersey for $9 million, and just this last season he was healthy scratched in January. Carolina replaced him with power-play specialist Tony DeAngelo, which didn’t work out. But these days Carolina has Shane Gostisbehere, a third-pairing defenceman, putting up points in overtime in the Stanley Cup final. All this to say, if the Hurricanes aren’t spending that kind of money on a defenceman who doesn’t play in every situation, then your team probably shouldn’t either. Try not to be nervous if rumours arise with interest from the Hurricanes.

What Mark Spector says is interesting with regard to how Nurse values his own productivity. He desperately wants to win, that much I believe. But the Oilers had a better option on the power play after Oscar Klefbom had to be shut down: Tyson Barrie. Barrie was a perfect third-pair defenceman in the same mould as Gostisbehere. I also believe strongly that Barrie wanted more than third-pair minutes, as I recall, loosely, his former Avs coach Patrick Roy saying he felt Barrie was an offensive specialist.

Anyways, the point is this: why can hockey players not be happy with who they are? Oh, millions of dollars, probably. Ok, sure.

Ok, but why can’t they be happy with who they are even with that contract in the literal bank? Darnell Nurse is an absolute force when he’s playing the right way, and for him it sounds like it’s a mental battle, judging by the report from Spector.

Back to Nurse and his actual play on the ice, because I think most people would agree that if money was no object, he wouldn’t be getting run out of town. And if he eventually is, better hope he’s not picked up by Eric Tulsky and the Hurricanes.

I thought it would be fun to see how reliable my memory is on the skills Nurse demonstrated prior to the big contract. What did he do so well to earn that security? Let’s start with puck touches. The most important job of every defenceman is transporting the puck towards the offensive zone.

He looks so calm and poised. This is the Chris Pronger version of Nurse the Oilers need. He moves the puck, joins the rush where it’s appropriate, and the offence comes as a result of those good habits. This kind of defenceman can play 30 minutes a night.

You have to get the puck before you can move it. Nurse’s tenacity, aggression, and ability to separate the man from the puck are top tier. Again, watch his feet in these clips.

He’s such a smooth skater, but the interesting thing here is that he often doesn’t take too many strides. Again, Chris Pronger-esque. It’s because his gap control is excellent, so he’s already on top of the forward, and then all he needs to do is use his stick and his limbs to cut them off. He’s just focused on killing the play and then getting the puck moving in the right direction.

The contrast between those clips from five years ago and now is pretty stark. I’m probably cherry-picking a lot here, and the truth, as always, lies somewhere between the extremes. But when you watch Nurse play with Canada at the World Championships, he just looks off. He’s uncomfortable. It’s as though he feels like he needs to come over and lead the way. The Oilers have been deep in the playoffs at this time the past few years, so he hasn’t had an opportunity to play for his country, and it’s probably a lot harder than he and a lot of players thought it would be.

He’s a proud player, and he’s trying to do too much. When that happens, it inevitably ends poorly. If I was coaching the team (are the Oilers hiring? I hear they’re hiring), I’d sit him down, show him these clips, and describe how playing this way will benefit him and the team in the long run. He’s too skilled to be a liability, so just rely on your natural skill and let the game come to you.

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