Confirmed Signing with Link: [EDM] Darnell Nurse signs extension with the Oilers (8 years, $9.25M AAV) PART II

[zar]

At 27 years old the term of 8 yrs is the right term the money for a a top 20 Dman in the league is also the right money or soon should be IMCO

He's big, strong, he skates really well he's got good offensive instincts, and he takes care of the crease with real sense of purpose and unless his game suddenly falls apart the contract is good and the money is well spent.

Agree. He’s a #1 Dman (top 30 in the league) who is getting paid his value + Canadian Prairie tax.

If you think the Oilers D is bad today, imagine it next year without Nurse. The EDMONTON Oilers would not be able to attract a UFA Dman in the open market of Nurse’s ability and if they did they would have to to pay at least $9.5m.

 

[Llamamoto]

All I know is those stats have nothing to do with him playing the majority of every game with the greatest offensive tool in the NHL. That's all Darnell.

Nurse's stats do dip without McDavid, but he still sports a 50.68% xGF% which is very respectable given the strength of our team.

 

[boopronger]

I suspect Oilers' fans assessment of Nurse as a #1 dman, which is obviously wrong, is due to them not having anything close to a serviceable defenseman in so long I can't even remember. Pronger?

If you're comparing Nurse to the other schlubs on the roster, he's the #1, but he's not a guy I would want playing 24 mins a night against the other team's best. Not even close.

lubomir was a #1
Souray at his best was arguably

That’s probably it lol

 

[bucks_oil]

lubomir was a #1
Souray at his best was arguably

That’s probably it lol

Ryan Whitney before his foot killed his career

Oscar Klefbom was an excellent #2 who was playing as a #1 due to lack of depth - certainly more than "serviceable".

And the suggestion @Karl with a C, that Oiler fans don't recognize good hockey or hockey players because our team lacks depth is i) illogical, ii) insulting at best, trolling at worst. Be better man, some of us are not 13 years old and have been playing, watching or coaching long enough to have well-informed opinions. Your childish insult is quite unbecoming on you.

 

[TooMuchMan]

Nurse's stats do dip without McDavid, but he still sports a 50.68% xGF% which is very respectable given the strength of our team.

I agree that Nurse isn't some black hole possession-wise... but in my opinion he's getting paid way too much. Offensively (both possession and production) he's a dynamic top-15/20 D at ES. But defensively, my read of him through the 'eye test' (and the numbers appear to back it up) he's pretty poor - in the same ES defense tier as Hronek, Q. Hughes, and Bouchard - none of whom should be mistaken for a defensive stalwart, that's for sure.

Coupled together, he's probably a decent #2... but next year he's going to be paid like a no-doubt #1 (I'm sure I don't have to remind everyone that he'll have a top-10 - among D - cap hit next season)... and despite the hand-wringing he's actually having his best season by GSVA at age 27. We might expect him to gain a bit of ground in the next 2-3 years, but expecting a decline around 2025 isn't that far off-base.

I personally think that his offensive talents are currently wasted on a team where he's getting under 30% of the powerplay time. Maybe the Oilers should entertain a move of either of the other two offensive-minded points (-not Bouchard, preferably-) and grabbing a complete ES D to complement Nurse. A more nuclear route would be moving his massive hit to a team that needs an offensive-minded blueliner and use the return plus cap savings to be a deeper, harder to play against team.

I defer to Oil fans as I'm less confident in my assessment than I would be for a more familiar Eastern Conference player but I'd still make the argument that A.) Nurse is a good D who's still probably going to be overpaid by ~$2m next year, B.) His talents are a bit redundant given the current makeup of the Oilers' blue line. Were I a fan of Edmonton, I'd want to explore all of the possible solutions to this conundrum - especially if an early exit is the result.

 

[bucks_oil]

I agree that Nurse isn't some black hole possession-wise... but in my opinion he's getting paid way too much. Offensively (both possession and production) he's a dynamic top-15/20 D at ES. But defensively, my read of him through the 'eye test' (and the numbers appear to back it up) he's pretty poor - in the same ES defense tier as Hronek, Q. Hughes, and Bouchard - none of whom should be mistaken for a defensive stalwart, that's for sure.

Coupled together, he's probably a decent #2... but next year he's going to be paid like a no-doubt #1 (I'm sure I don't have to remind everyone that he'll have a top-10 - among D - cap hit next season)... and despite the hand-wringing he's actually having his best season by GSVA at age 27. We might expect him to gain a bit of ground in the next 2-3 years, but expecting a decline around 2025 isn't that far off-base.

I personally think that his offensive talents are currently wasted on a team where he's getting under 30% of the powerplay time. Maybe the Oilers should entertain a move of either of the other two offensive-minded points (-not Bouchard, preferably-) and grabbing a complete ES D to complement Nurse. A more nuclear route would be moving his massive hit to a team that needs an offensive-minded blueliner and use the return plus cap savings to be a deeper, harder to play against team.

I defer to Oil fans as I'm less confident in my assessment than I would be for a more familiar Eastern Conference player but I'd still make the argument that A.) Nurse is a good D who's still probably going to be overpaid by ~$2m next year, B.) His talents are a bit redundant given the current makeup of the Oilers' blue line. Were I a fan of Edmonton, I'd want to explore all of the possible solutions to this conundrum - especially if an early exit is the result.

Thanks for the balanced comments. A few points to consider:

• You really need to take into context who he's paired with and who he's playing in front of:
  • This year he's playing equal time with Bouchard & Barrie... as you say Bouchard would not be mistaken for a defensive stalwart and Barrie... we're told every day how terrible he is. These players are going to influence his performance every shift, not every other shift, or every third shift, like McDrai will
  • Last year his parter was Bear, who is now in and out of the lineup on a competitive Carolina squad... same point as above
  • Before that, Nurse had a steady diet of replacement level partners like Russell, Benning, Gryba, etc.
  • So my point, and any Oiler fan's point would be to the HF masses: yes, our D has been weak for several years, no legit top-4 since Sekera was injured in the 2017 playoffs. If we're going to accept that, then you have to accept that what we see game-in-game-out from Nurse is a guy who is doing all that he can to carry around a weak partner...
  • And he's doing that on a team that has historically had poor goaltending and poor team defense... so...
  • What would you expect his defensive numbers to realistically look like?
• Nurse is not "dynamic" offensively. He's an absolutely exceptional skater and decent puck mover. He rags the puck and escapes the zone. His best offensive move is hand over the puck to more creative players and then sneak into the high slot as a trailing shooter. At best you would describe his o-zone game as "smart and safe". His offense comes entirely from being an elite possession player in the neutral zone and in his own zone after puck recovery. That's why his controlled exits are relatively strong.
• His phenotype offensively is way more "Jay Bouwmeester" than it is "Prime Subban" or "Prime Doughty".
• So your point of trading him away or trading away Bouchard doesn't really jive... they are entirely different players. Once Nurse settles down in his own zone and starts directing traffic more, fitting with a structure, teaching the structure... which he has started to do.... rather than chase down the puck and puck carrier because his skating let's him do that,... that's when we'll see the best of him. He is still coming into his own.
• This cap hit is gonna hurt a bit, but Nurse, at 27 next October, is going to be the grizzled vet on a team laden with young defenders... Bouchard, Broberg, Neimelainen. All will be on ELC and bridge deals until the end of McDrai's contracts. Nurse needs to stay for this reason alone and when his cap hit is put in that context it won't be so painful. Once we upgrade from Keith & move Barrie, we'll have an additional $9M off the books and be in decent shape to add a shutdown vet to the squad, with plenty left over. You then play well-rounded Nurse with the most well-rounded of our youth and play the vet with the other guy.
• 30 is YOUNG for smooth skating defenseman. Especially one who is a fit freak like Nurse. He'll be 34 when his contract expires. Letang is 34, Josi 31, Hedman 31, Bouwmeester played till 36, Burns is 37, Pietrangelo & Doughty both 32.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Should have saved that money (+ draft picks) to get a better dman or goalie. Nurse is a bandaid solution at best at that price.