Darnell Nurse and Kyle Dubas may soon be reunited a decade after being together with the Soo Greyhounds.

The Edmonton Oilers defenceman requested a trade June 11, providing the team a list of three to five teams, among them the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom Dubas is the general manager. It was a logical spot for Nurse, given the familiarity and the team pushing for playoff success as Sidney Crosby’s career nears its end.

And Thursday, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, who initially reported Pittsburgh’s interest, said the two teams are working on a trade.

“Pittsburgh may be No. 1 on Darnell Nurse’s list of five teams he would waive for, and the Penguins and Oilers have been discussing a potential trade,” Pagnotta wrote. “Edmonton GM Stan Bowman is not going to rush into a move, but some believe we’ll see a trade around the NHL Draft.”

June 26’s draft is fast approaching, just eight days from the time of publishing. While it may not seem like a ton of time, it should be plenty for the two teams to consummate a deal or for the Oilers to see what other options exist in a potential Nurse trade.

The Penguins offer an interesting potential trade partner for the Oilers, as they currently have $37.858 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, while sitting roughly $10.8 million below the league’s salary cap floor. That opens Pittsburgh up to being a team that could take on Nurse’s full $9.25 million AAV salary, which runs through the 2029-30 season. Pittsburgh has a slew of draft picks, including their own first-, second-, and third-round picks in each of the next four years, as well as five other second-round picks and two third-round picks over that time, too.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported this week the Oilers feel they won’t have to “retain a lot,” if any of Nurse’s contract in a trade.

There are three other teams that have to spend more than the Penguins to get to the cap floor, including the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, and San Jose Sharks.

The L.A. Kings were another team that Pagnotta had linked to the Oilers as a possible trade destination, given Ken Holland is their general manager and signed Nurse to the contract he is playing under.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s managing editor and The Nation Network’s news director. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.