The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to move Darnell Nurse and his contract to San Jose in a deal that brings back two young defensemen.
One of the pieces heading to Edmonton is left-shot blueliner Shakir Mukhamadullin, a 24-year-old who stands 6’4 and weighs 200 pounds. Mukhamadullin was a first-round pick by the Devils in 2020 and has logged parts of three NHL seasons with the Sharks. In 50 games last season, he put up 5-7-12 with 22 penalty minutes and finished minus-3.
Mukhamadullin is an RFA and is coming off a $1 million cap hit in 2026, so he will need a new contract.
The other player coming from San Jose is another left-shot defenseman, Zack Sharp. He is 21, measures 6’2 and 180 pounds, and is currently at Western Michigan. Last season in the NCAA, Sharp posted 5-14-19 in 37 games and was plus-15.
For Edmonton, this is a notable move because Nurse’s contract had been viewed by some as one that would be hard to shift without meaningful retention. Instead, the Oilers have found a path out, and that gives Stan Bowman more room to explore UFA and other options that weren’t available before the deal.
Nurse’s run in Edmonton was a long one. He played 798 regular-season games for the Oilers, scoring 88-236-324 with 725 penalty minutes.
In the playoffs, he added 7-22-29 in 100 games. By games played, he ranks seventh in Oilers franchise history.
More to come…
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