The idea of the Edmonton Oilers trading Darnell Nurse is no longer just speculation; it’s now a question of when, not if.

According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, the Oilers are set to approach Nurse “in the coming days about his wishes” and that the team “are ready and willing to trade Nurse as soon as they are able.”

Nurse has spent 12 seasons in Edmonton, and with the Oilers still having not reached their goal of winning the Stanley Cup in that span, a change is needed. With that reality setting in, there are several reasons why now, more than ever, is the right time to trade the Oilers’ longest-serving defenceman.

The stakes were raised in Edmonton when Connor McDavid signed a two-year extension at an average annual value (AAV) of $12.5 million last October, leaving millions on the table to help the Oilers stay competitive. However, with their 2025-26 first-round exit to the Anaheim Ducks, it likely left a bitter taste with the captain, and now success next season becomes even more critical.

As Jay Downton said recently, “This is the last dance. It is Stanley Cup or bust, because if it’s not Stanley Cup, then we honestly have to think about the non-Connor McDavid era.” It’s a tough reality, but it’s the truth. Next season’s outcome may determine McDavid’s long-term future with the Oilers.

The clock is potentially ticking on McDavid’s future in Oil Country, and one of the team’s priorities beyond winning a Cup is convincing the captain to stay once his two-year contract is up, and management needs to show him they’re serious about winning.

One way to do that is to get cutthroat, move on from what isn’t working, and they’ve already started to do that, with the firing of head coach Kris Knoblauch and assistant Mark Stuart being the first dominoes to fall.

The next issue that doesn’t appear to be working is Nurse — who deflected 17 pucks into his own net in 2025-26 — and his effectiveness on the blue line.

McDavid would never openly question Nurse’s effectiveness on the back end, but the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Here, it’s the expectation, year after year, that Nurse lives up to his $9.25 million-a-season salary and becomes a true shutdown defenceman who can anchor his team to a Cup.

We’ve seen enough sample size to know that it’s likely not going to happen, and that belief is supported by Spector mentioning that there were discussions from the coaching staff around scratching Nurse in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, but the decision was ultimately made to limit his minutes. That’s a tough pill to swallow for the Oilers’ second-highest-paid blueliner. At this point, change is imminent.

Another factor pointing to now being the time to trade Nurse is the Oilers’ need to add a legitimate scoring winger and more firepower up front to help McDavid. Even with roughly $14.5 million in cap space next season, as Ryley Delaney pointed out, they still have several depth roles to fill. And any major move, such as adding a bona fide top-six player, will require clearing cap space, and Nurse’s contract limits that flexibility.

On that note, Bob Stauffer said recently on “Oilers Now,” “If Nurse does get traded this summer, if, and there’s no guarantee he will. If he gets traded this summer, for sure the Oilers take a swing on another top six forward.”

The next reason now, or very soon, is the time to move on from Nurse is that the Oilers need to give more minutes to Jake Walman, whose seven-year deal at a $7 million AAV begins next season.

In my view, Walman, who is a left shot, struggled playing on the right side in 2025-26 and needs to play on his natural left side to maximize his effectiveness, and at $7 million a season, that cannot be on the third pairing.

And despite injuries that saw him miss 29 regular-season games in 2025-26, Walman stepped it up in the playoffs. As Lane Golden noted, he led all Oilers defencemen in expected goal share and recorded four assists in six games while mainly playing on the third pairing. He needs more ice time, and Nurse is currently holding down the second-pair spot on the left side that Walman would otherwise step into.

Then, if the Oilers traded Nurse and Walman moved up to the second pair, why not take a swing at unrestricted free agent Brett Kulak, who averaged over 20 minutes a night with the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs, to anchor the third pairing? He’s a player we know can elevate in a pinch in the postseason, as he did many times for the Oilers.

Also, there is a human side to this conversation when it comes to Nurse. With trade speculation rising and scrutiny increasing, a fresh start elsewhere may ultimately be best not only for the team, but for him as well.

Now, with that scrutiny in mind, Spector’s article had plenty to say about Nurse, but what stood out above all was when a previous coach in Nurse’s career said:

Raise your hand if you’ve ever questioned Nurse’s hockey sense. At some point or another, most have thought it, discussed it with friends, or even texted it in a group chat. Now that thought is no longer behind closed doors, as a former coach has publicly questioned the blueliner’s hockey sense, and as the cliché goes, the gloves are off.

But think about that specific scenario for a second. Say you have insecurities about certain abilities — or, I should say, inabilities — at work. You’ve taken training, your co-workers have tried to help you out, but you just can’t quite figure out how to do the task, and you don’t have an explanation for it. Then a former boss of yours goes on record and publicly says that your weak point is a concern.

For some, that could be disheartening, while for others it could be motivating.

But in Nurse’s case, based on what we’ve seen, it doesn’t appear to serve as motivation. He’s already acknowledged the criticism from fans, saying in 2023, “I feel like I’ve been blamed for everything from a goal against to the traffic on Stony Plain.” Still, that hasn’t translated into improved play, and the added scrutiny, now even more amplified, may be doing more harm than good to his game.

Furthermore, the ripple effect of a former coach publicly questioning his hockey sense is that the Nurse detractors who haven’t held back on criticizing the blueliner have more ammo and are only going to get louder. Does he really want to deal with more of that next season?

Also, his full no-movement clause gives him control over potential destinations (if a trade partner agrees), but that shifts after the 2026-27 season to a 10-team no-trade list, as noted on “Oilersnation Everyday,” which would allow the Oilers to move him to any of the remaining 21 teams, adding to the idea that, from his perspective, now may be the most beneficial time for a move if he were to waive his no-movement clause.

That said, despite the criticism, Nurse still has value — he can skate, is a minute muncher, and will drop the gloves with anyone. But at this point, a change of scenery may be the right move, and a trade now could benefit both sides.

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