Darnell Nurse’s name has been circling through the rumor mill all draft weekend, and Boston has emerged as a possible landing spot. One of the three teams Nurse has reportedly OK’d on his short list, the buzzed-about framework would send Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei back the other way.
The idea, first reported by Kevin Paul Dupont, is built around Edmonton holding back part of Nurse’s $9.25 million cap hit to help make the money work against Lohrei’s $3.2 million deal. On paper, it has the kind of logic that can hook people fast: a younger player, a shorter commitment, a little cap relief. In practice, it looks like the Oilers would be paying to move sideways - or worse.
Dupont wrote:
“Murmurings during draft weekend out of EDM that Oil could be down for a Nurse-Lohrei swap, with Oil willing to “share” the difference in AAVs (approx $6M spread). I could see Bruins moving form Lohrei’s $3.2M AAV to something around $6.5M AAV for Nurse.”
That would mean Edmonton keeping $3 million on Nurse, dropping his hit to $6.25 million. And that’s the first problem: every credible report so far has said GM Stan Bowman is trying hard to retain nothing. Taking on $3 million just to facilitate a deal feels like a non-starter.
The second problem is simpler. If the Oilers are going to eat money, it should be for a player who actually solves a problem.
Lohrei, by the numbers, doesn’t look like that player right now. He’s only 25, sure, and there’s still room for growth.
But the Bruins appear willing to move him for a reason, and his modest cap hit doesn’t make up for the question marks.
Even in sheltered third-pairing minutes against lighter competition, Lohrei finished on the wrong side of expected-goals-for percentage and high-danger-chances-for percentage. He’s got offense in his game, but the defensive side still has real holes.
Nurse is a different case entirely. He’s been logging 20-plus minutes a night for years, has been a top-four anchor on a Cup-contending team, and brings physical play plus penalty-kill reliability.
He’s overpaid, no question, but by the standards of today’s cap world, that gap is not nearly as ugly as it once looked. Edmonton should not be paying extra to take on someone else’s issue.
If the Oilers truly want flexibility, there are cleaner ways to get there. They could move Nurse for picks or futures without attaching money, or simply ride out the rest of his deal. Either option makes more sense than retaining salary to bring in Lohrei and barely saving anything.
Edmonton has already lived through the years when Nurse’s contract felt like a burden. That is no longer the case. If anything, the Oilers should be using that to their advantage: they paid for the tough seasons, and now another team can buy in close to market value.
The urge to make a move is understandable. But not every move helps.
Retaining money to land Lohrei in his current form would mean the Oilers are paying more to get less, and that’s a bad trade, plain and simple. Frankly, I’m not sure the Oilers should even do that trade straight across with no salary retained.
In Other News...
Oilers Goalie Situation Just Took Another Frustrating Turn
Connor Ingrams lone season in Edmonton has become part of a much larger summer scramble in net, with the Oilers still searching for answers after their talks with the veteran goalie failed to produce a new deal. The market has already started to sort itself out around the club, and Edmonton has been tied to a handful of different options as it tries to settle on a direction before the rest of the goalie carousel slows down.
Among the names linked to the Oilers are Sebastian Cossa, Devon Levi and Sergei Bobrovsky, a list that underscores just how wide the teams search has become. Ingram, meanwhile, is also drawing attention elsewhere, including from Ottawa as a possible backup option, leaving Edmonton to keep weighing its alternatives while one of last seasons familiar faces moves toward another stop. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Add Mathieu Joseph And Fans Will Debate What It Means
The Oilers kept busy on the roster front again, this time adding Mathieu Joseph on a one-year deal that gives the club another NHL-tested forward to sort into the mix. Joseph arrives with plenty of mileage on his rsum, having played 471 games in the league, and his path through St. Louis and Los Angeles last season only adds to the sense that Edmonton is still looking for useful pieces wherever it can find them.
For a team that has already layered in a string of other moves, Joseph is the kind of signing that invites debate because it says something about both fit and intent. Edmonton still has cap room to work with, but the real question now is how this latest addition slots into the larger plan as the Oilers continue reshaping the bottom of the lineup and trying to make each move count. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Made A Goaltending Gamble That Could Change Everything
The Oilers have taken another swing at solving the one area that has haunted too many of their recent runs, signing Frederik Andersen to a one-year deal and adding Devon Levi in a move that signals a real reset in net. Andersen comes in on a modest salary with performance bonuses attached, while Levi arrives as a younger piece with upside, giving Edmonton a different kind of depth chart heading toward the 2026-27 season.
What makes the decision interesting is the structure around it, because Edmonton is not treating this as a simple starter-and-backup arrangement. The plan is to carry Andersen, Levi and Tristan Jarry in a three-goalie setup, a rare approach for a team trying to build stability rather than just patch a hole, and it leaves the Oilers with plenty to sort out before opening night of that season. [Read more 🡒]