Darnell Nurse has been a key contributor on the Edmonton Oilers’ blueline for nearly a decade, but inconsistency and playoff struggles in recent years have cranked up the pressure for him to perform. Through six games of the 2025-26 season, he is off to one of the roughest starts of his career, and it’s draining life from the team at both ends of the ice.

The Oilers have been outscored 3-0 in Nurse’s 5-on-5 minutes thus far, and the high-danger chances are 21-8 for the opposition. These results would be concerning on their own, but they become even more jarring when you contrast them with what happens when the Nurse isn’t on the ice. The Oilers have outscored the opposition 8-6 and hold a 36-31 lead in high-danger chances at 5-on-5 when he’s on the bench.

The numbers paint a clear picture — Nurse has been a drag on Edmonton’s play. What’s more concerning is that these results aren’t isolated to bad luck or a few unfortunate bounces. They stem from recurring habits in his game.

What we’re seeing from Nurse at the moment is nothing new. The same issues that have plagued him in past slumps. Panicked puck retrievals, failed clears, and poor decision-making are once again dragging his game down. While these weaknesses are present in the regular season, they typically don’t reach a boiling point until the postseason, when teams bring more physicality and effort on the forecheck and in board battles.

Unfortunately, the same version of Nurse who can’t seem to perform in the playoffs is the one showing up in the first few weeks of the regular season. The Oilers don’t need him to be perfect; they need him to be reliable. Right now, that version of his game feels far away. Fixing it starts with simplifying his play and getting him the right partner to help steady things.

The key for Nurse is simplicity in his game. That’s why he’s always tended to play better next to a good puck-mover who can do the heavy lifting on breakouts to take some of the pressure off. Alec Regula has the potential to fill that role — he and Nurse showed some promise in the first two games, before he was injured against the Canucks. They were outscored 1-0, but Edmonton largely controlled play in their minutes, holding a 70% share of the expected goals.

The plan for now will likely be to pair him with Jake Walman, who the Oilers activated off the IR Monday morning. Walman is a mobile skater and puck mover who can facilitate zone exits and take the pressure off Nurse. Last season, they outscored the opposition 8-2 in their minutes together with a dominant 61% expected goal share. Prior to Walman’s injury in training camp, this was the planned duo to start the season.

Ideally, a $9.25M defenseman could anchor a second pair without requiring a partner with a specific set of skills to calm their game down, but that ship has sailed. Nurse is who he is. He may not live up to his contract, but with Edmonton’s D-core closer to full strength, he could at least live up to his role.