The Edmonton Oilers still haven’t moved Darnell Nurse, and that stalemate is starting to shape the rest of their offseason plans for 2026-27.
Nurse asked for a trade weeks ago, but the deal hasn’t come together yet. The issue, according to multiple reports, is that he has not widened his trade list, even though there are teams interested in him. One of the clubs tied to him is the Anaheim Ducks, though he reportedly does not want to go there.
For now, the Ducks remain only a hypothetical landing spot. There’s no sign the two teams have been deep into talks, but if Nurse were to agree to Anaheim, a framework for a deal does exist.
The biggest obstacle for Edmonton is obvious: Nurse carries a $9.25 million cap hit, and the Oilers are unlikely to wipe that out completely in any trade. More realistically, they’d probably be looking at clearing about $5-6 million, either by retaining salary or by taking money back.
That’s where Frank Vatrano comes in. The 32-year-old forward had nine points in 50 games last season and has produced 186 goals and 139 assists for 325 points in 695 career games. He also comes with a $4.57 million cap hit and is signed through 2027-28.
In the proposed swap, Anaheim would get Nurse, while Edmonton would receive Vatrano and a seventh-round pick in 2027. For the Ducks, adding Nurse would help them stay above the cap floor while also giving them a veteran left-shot defender, which is one of their offseason needs.
For the Oilers, the math is cleaner. Swapping for Vatrano would create just under $4.7 million in cap space, and while he could theoretically slide into the third line, he could also be moved again pretty quickly for future considerations.
That possibility matters because Vatrano may not be an ideal fit in Edmonton’s bottom six. Based on last season, he could have trouble matching their system and had issues at both ends of the ice, which makes flipping him after the trade a sensible option.
If Edmonton is serious about moving Nurse, it may have to get inventive to make it work. This is one path that fits the numbers.
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His new deal runs through the 2027-28 NHL season and keeps him squarely in the mix for the kind of depth role teams rely on over a long year. Caulfield was acquired from Pittsburgh in March 2023, and with another two-way contract in hand, the next question is how the Ducks intend to use that familiarity as their forward group takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
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Former Ducks Goalie Frederik Andersen Just Found Another NHL Home
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Edmonton is taking a measured approach with Andersen, who comes with the kind of injury history that has shaped the way teams have to manage him. The one-year deal is built with base money and bonuses, and the plan is to use him in tandem rather than lean on him as a full-time answer, which tells you exactly how the Oilers view the balance between upside and risk. [Read more 🡒]