If the Edmonton Oilers are successful in their goal of trading Darnell Nurse ahead of next season, the team is going to have to figure out how to replace his minutes.

One of Nurse’s strengths has been his ability to remain healthy, and munch minutes for the Oilers. He averaged 20:58 this season, his fewest on average since the 2017-18 season, and over the last three seasons, has played the most penalty kill minutes of any defenceman on the team.

An option for the team would be trading Nurse for another defenceman who could replace some of his minutes, and a swap of Nurse for Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly could make sense for both sides.

Another route for the Oilers could be to attack the free-agent market. While the team may have to retain some of Nurse’s $9.25 million per year contract in order to facilitate a deal, reports suggest the Oilers could get it done with only having to retain roughly $2 million, potentially leaving the team with salary cap space to play with.

Daily Faceoff’s top free agents list dropped weeks ago, and there are a few names on the list that could be options for the Oilers.

The 33-year-old has been linked to the Oilers in the past, and has remained an effective defenceman. He’s spent the last five years with the Seattle Kraken, scoring 21 goals and 89 points in 389 games, and has been a strong driver of play over that time. His first two years saw him impact the game above that of a first-pairing defenceman, though in his last two years, his game has dipped to, on average, a high-end third-pairing defenceman.

Standing at a hulking 6-foot-7, 252 lbs., he’s an imposing physical presence on the blue line, but one thing playing to his benefit is his footspeed, with his max speed in the 63rd percentile, according to NHL Edge.

AFP Analytics projects Oleksiak to earn a two-year, $2.958 million AAV contract in free agency.

Could the Oilers nab another San Jose Sharks defenceman? Ferraro, 26, is set to hit free agency this summer, fresh off another season where he munched minutes, playing just over 21 minutes a night this past season. He scored seven goals and 23 points in 82 games, and led all Sharks defenceman in penalty kill minutes by 100 minutes.

His five-on-five minutes don’t jump off the board, with the Sharks controlling 48.7 per cent of the goal share, 45.4 per cent of the shot attempt share, and 46.4 per cent of the expected goal share, but it’s worth noting his goal share is 3.7 per cent better relative to his teammates.

The 5-foot-11, 200 lb. left-shot blue liner drove offensive play at a two per cent rate above league average and defence at a one per cent rate below league average, with his overall impact as a second-pairing defenceman, according to Hockey Viz.

AFP Analytics projects Ferraro to earn a four-year, $5.131 million AAV contract in free agency.

While Oleksiak and Ferraro are both left-shot defenceman, Blankenburg is a right-shot who the Oilers could look at. He scored eight goals and 24 points in 61 games this year, playing 49 games for the Nashville Predators and a dozen for the Colorado Avalanche. He got in for five playoff games with the Avs, and is a player that could go overlooked.

He’s not large in stature, standing at just 5-foot-9 and 177 lbs., but averaged nearly one blocked shot and one hit per game. In his 824 five-on-five minutes with both teams this year with Blankenburg on the ice, his teams controlled 54.9 per cent of the shot attempt share, 44.1 per cent of his goal share, and 55.1 per cent of the expected goal share.

Individually, the 27-year-old drove offence at a three per cent rate above league average and defence at a one per cent rate below league average. His overall contributions, according to Hockey Viz, had him impacting play at the rate of a high-end second-pairing defenceman.

AFP Analytics projects Blankenburg to earn a two-year, $4.062 million AAV contract in free agency.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the Daily Faceoff DFS Hockey Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.