I'm not gonna poo poo on Nurse. Yes, his play on ice was incredibly suspect. But, I always said he was a good person. It sucks his contract was higher than what he should have gotten. I wish him well in San Jose and am jealous he's gonna get to be friends with Celebrini.
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‘Build Stan Bowman a statue’: Oilers fans react to Darnell Nurse, Devon Levi trades
Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
By Zach Laing
Jul 1, 2026, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 1, 2026, 20:22 EDT
It’s the end of an era as the Edmonton Oilers have traded Darnell Nurse.
The deal makes Ryan Nugent-Hopkins the final link to their old AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons. The Nurse move wasn’t the only trade the Oilers made, as the team sent a third-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for goaltender Devon Levi.
As one could expect, fans had lots to say about both moves.
Reactions are from the Oilersnation Instagram, Facebook, the Edmonton Oilers’ subreddit, and X.
The Nurse trade
In the end, you can’t blame Nurse for his deal. $9.25m is a deal anyone would have signed if offered. Holland mismanaged the situation & cap. Chances are, if he wasn’t bridged twice and was near, he’d be an Oiler for life. Vinny found success in SJ. Nurse will, too. – gretzkytokurri on XIn the most Darnell Nurse move ever, he fails to play defense and instantly caves to go to SJS – KailerMemeamoto on XBuild Stan Bowman a f***g statue right now. – NHL_Bouchard via XWell, I had my criticisms of you Doc but even still you were one hell of a player. The win now window will continue and hopefully we’ll see you back in Orange and Blue someday when the cap is higher. – Shinpi Karasundane via XThank you Darnell! You will be missed! – Captain Feltan via InstagramDid us a favor on the way out. We made a bet that he would be able to play up to that contract and he never was. Now finally with the cap going up it’s a reasonable contract. Best of luck Darnell. I think with simplified role/coaching you’ll get your career back on track. Thanks for the memories. – Sparrigitti via r/EdmontonOilers
Former Oiler Mike Grier, who is the GM of the San Jose Sharks, did the Oilers a bit of a favour here, and in that sense, he did a favour for Darnell Nurse by bringing him to a young team on the come-up. Here’s to the best for Nurse and the Edmonton Oilers.
The Levi trade
On the morning of July 1st, Oilers fans were a little sour when Bob Stauffer mentioned the team was going to be quiet on the first day of free agency. A few hours later, the team would announce the acquisition of goaltender Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres, kicking off their plentiful number of moves.
Overall, the temperature is warm around Oilersnation on the team picking up Levi. Fans are optimistic that he can bring competition to the crease, but as of right now, it’s hard to say whether Edmonton is done in the crease or will look to add more security in the position.
Hate it! But Sabres perspective. I really believe hes gonna be a stud. – Sabres Commute via XThey did well here, I really like the bet. – Artorius Jenkins via XThis is how the Oilers should be approaching their net-minding: making cheap, low-risk bets on goalies with upside rather than overpaying for a $5.4M Tristan Jarry. No guarantee Levi turns into anything, but the price is dirt cheap, he’s 24, and there’s decent potential. – NHL_Sid via XThis guy has failed everytime got the call by Sabres. He’s just too small in stature to succeed. Hopefully he’s just AHL depth in pipeline, he was obviously there third choice (Cossa / DePietro) – Stefan Wasylko via XLove this trade. id rather the upside of a 24 year old, two-time Junior medalist (silver in 21, gold in 23) than Ingram back. – Trevor Airdrie via FacebookLevi had a 4.00 goals against average in his last season in Buffalo. Oilers are loading up on Career AHL goalies. This is a downgrade from Ingram. Levi was one of the best goalies in the AHL, and is 24 and has potential, let’s see if he can rise to it. – Danny Harper via FacebookLittle bit of risk but still some ceiling there. Glad we did something that wasn’t a large contract to Bob or someone else. – Ted57 via r/EdmontonOilers
For a smaller trade, the general consensus among Oilers fans seems positive, and they are excited to see what Devon Levi can bring to a position that draws more attention than most in this market. Is this an upgrade over Pickard or Ingram? Only time will tell whether the organization has another move up its sleeve.
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