What to do with Nurse?

[Boom not bust]

He's been a bit of a disappointment, loses coverage and makes bad reads too often and his rushes almost always go nowhere due to slow decision making. It's too bad because he is big and tough and an excellent skater but I have never been a big believer in him and do not think he will overcome his lack of hockey sense to ever be much more than what we see.

I don't think he is part of the core or future core and would be open to moving him but we aren't deep enough on d to begin with so only move him to bring in another d man, like a Strome Spooner deal only this time get the better player.

 

[thadd]

I see him as someone we could potentially package with other assets for 1 or 2 pieces that would help us out more.

 

[Panda Bear]

Hands up if you would take Ryan Pulock over Darnell Nurse today. I would. He's just not a smart player.

Vindication for @McJadeddog?

 

[syz]

He's entirely redundant on this team but at least he has age going for him. Sekera and Russell will be done soon so as it stands I'd still have time for him as a #4, but if he prices himself out of that or gets bumped down the depth chart (either by prospect development or signings/trades) then I won't be bothered at all if the team moves him.

 

[walktheboulavard]

I think while he hasn't been good this season outside of a stretch of 8 or so games near the beginning, he hasn't been as disastrous as some would lead you to believe. It's always been fashionable to pounce on Nurse here and he's been a whipping boy since before he was drafted. Some of the criticism is fair, a lot of it borders on ridiculous hyperbole.

Has his moments (a lot of them, to be fair) where he over-pursues and seems noncommittal on the ice. When it comes to his skating, something's not right there. A player doesn't go from looking as dynamic and fluid as he's been in prior seasons to someone who looks like he's lost half of his foot speed. Wonder if something is nagging him or if it's simply a confidence issue.

Been looking better the last couple of games though. Parts of his game are trending in the right direction instead of regressing as they have been. As well, he's closer with McDavid and Draisaitl than anyone else on this roster and there's still potential there to be unlocked. He's not going anywhere.

I find it amusing, his detractors patting themselves on the back like he's a finished product.

 

[Panda Bear]

I find it amusing, his detractors patting themselves on the back like he's a finished product.

If he's not as good as Klefbom and Larsson were at the same age, then...is he ever going to be better than them?

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

If he's not as good as Klefbom and Larsson were at the same age, then...is he ever going to be better than them?

I don't think he has to be better than either one of them to still be a useful player for us.

 

[Panda Bear]

I don't think he has to be better than either one of them to still be a useful player for us.

I don't either, but I would love to package him and other assets to get someone who would be super useful for us.

 

[bobbythebrain]

I don't think he has to be better than either one of them to still be a useful player for us.

Sure he does. He signed a bridge to prove he can do more. His contract will be up before those 2, and will demand more than them.

If his play continues the same, he's eating up cap that could be used on an improvement

 

[Bank Shot]

I don't either, but I would love to package him and other assets to get someone who would be super useful for us.

Well I would trade any player on the Oilers if the trade is a clear win so what's your point exactly?

I guess if there is a trade out there that involves Nurse that gets us an upgrade you do it. Same thing for Klefbom or RNH etc.

I don't see the point in moving Nurse just for the sake of moving him.

He's definitely still has potential to improve and he looked great last season with Larsson.

So my initial instinct would be looking for a dman to compliment Nurse and replace Russell with that player.

 

[thadd]

If he's not as good as Klefbom and Larsson were at the same age, then...is he ever going to be better than them?

I'd be a little surprised if that happened at this point.
I wish he'd focus more on his defensive game so that he could at least turn into an elite shut-down d-man because he's more than capable of doing it.
I think it's just a matter of whether or not that's what he wants to be.

 

[Aerchon]

I would certainly agree his play has dropped off considerably.

You stay the course. Chiarelli gets crapped on but a bridge deal for Nurse was perfect.

Nurse is getting #2 PP opportunities and top 4 minutes and right now does not look great doing so. He is no Sekera.

Yet anyways. He is still young. Has only been a top 4 regular one season. He just has to buckle down and work on his game. Still has great tools. Has shown stints of great play. Needs consistency. Very common for defenders in his situation. Hopefully he figures it out asap.

 

[Aerrol]

Voted keep him to trade only because I'm open to moving him in a package for an overall upgrade but I'm not in a rush to move him. I think he at least settles into a Smid type player and still might grow beyond what he showed last year into a top pairing guy. Look at Dumba - different playstyle but similar in the sense that he's had great tools for years and never seemed to put it together. Finally last year really clicks and now he's a huge part of the Wild blue line. I'm willing to wait and see what we have in Nurse.

 

[dss97]

Keep him. He was very good last year and can just as easily return to that form. He’s probably just adjusting to the new coach a little slower than the others.

We need to stop selling low on players.

 

[joestevens29]

Defencemen are like jobs. You don't abandon it until you've found a better one first.

Pretty much.

Trading nurse and then expecting someone like Caleb Jones to step in and play 20-22 minutes is bad for the oilers and bad for the development of jones.

I agree. If there is a trade that makes sense then so be it, but maybe getting the guy help so he isn't playing so much is the solution. Get another solid d-man to bring down everyone's minutes.

Not like we need to make a decision on him asap. Still have another year before we worry about extension

 

[dem]

Keep him..
The time to move him has passed, IMO.

 

[Drivesaitl]

His play this year has been pretty disappointing. I know development is not linear, but he still has the exact same issues with his play that he did when he first came into the league.

His skating doesn’t look elite anymore at this level and his decision making and positioning are questionable.

He’s also possibly the only Oiler who actually looks worse under Hitch. Even guys like Lucic, Benning and Talbot have looked far better under the new coach.

It’s coming to a tipping point with him. What would you do?

I'd stop flaming the young Defenceman that has had poor coaching, direction, and has had roles here like trying to prop up Benning. That gets huge minutes last season, punches cows, is the best D on the team last season, but then at Contract time he's told he's worth less than every other starting D on the team.

yeah, I'd probably stop dissing that guy. But that's what the board does here.

Identify a scapegoat and then full bore.

heres the list of core players here that are being drilled every day on this board;

Drai
Talbot
Nurse

The board should put out a program so people can keep track of the annual scapegoats. Its a tradition here after all.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Keep him. He was very good last year and can just as easily return to that form. He’s probably just adjusting to the new coach a little slower than the others.

We need to stop selling low on players.

Thank you for some reason in the thread.

Has nearly everybody on the board become a Chia clone? We're in this mess of a roster BECAUSE we sell assets low.

Just a season ago Darnell was eating the most minutes and shouldering the most responsibility, while other higher paid D on the roster were chronically injured, out of the lineup. The same Nurse was +15 last season, how soon we forget. When does Nurse ever even miss a game?

 

[elmeroil]

He's still young and a lot of defenseman take a while to develop. I have no problem with his development and I think he will be a great third or fourth defenseman for a long time on this team. He has way too much potential to give up on him now.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

With Sekera coming back in the next 4 weeks, they have a logjam on D.

Nurse has a shown he has a good shot and some speed. Why not try him out at wing? Maybe he'd be a decent power forward.

 

[Zaddy]

It's pointless to move him if you don't have a guy who can replace him and play his minutes with similar level of play or better.

With that being said, if we did have that replacement I would be looking at trading options. Getting a skilled top6 winger to play with Drai or McDavid, or even Nuge, would help this team a lot. But if you do that deal right now that just opens up a hole on the back-end that we have no one to fill. It sucks that Sekera got hit with all these injury issues, otherwise there would have been a pretty good case to make a deal and upgrade the forwards.

Anyway, I'm not opposed to keeping Nurse either. He's a flawed defenseman and I really think the lack of high-end hockey IQ is starting to really shine through. He has well over 200 games now and is still making the same mistakes as he did his first year. It's pretty brutal to watch him on the breakout, and it's brutal to watch him in the offensive zone where he just has no idea where to go or what to do with the puck. His shot is as big of a non-factor as any other defenseman on the team too.

On top of all that he consistently makes poor reads defensively and loses coverage. It's pretty interesting to watch and compare him and Larsson actually. Nurse is probably twice the skater that Larsson is, but which of the two do you see lose his man and be out of position more? Nurse. There's no reason a guy with his size and skating should lose his man the way he does, as often as he does, but to me this is a classic case of a player who reacts to the play, versus a guy like Larsson who is proactive and gets in position before the play happens. Nurse is often that split second too slow in processing what's happening out there on the ice.

Well, this turned into a long paragraph but as I was saying, even with all his flaws I wouldn't mind keeping Nurse. I think it's unlikely he ever becomes a top pair D but I think at least he could be a very serviceable and relatively cheap #4D for years to come, and that is still a very good thing to have on a team. Russell and Sekera aren't going to be here forever. Nurse is still young and him and Bouchard (or Larsson) could form a very good 2nd pairing for the next half-dozen years or so. So unless you have a clear replacement in line (like if Jones were to prove himself capable in a large sample size, or Sekera comes back healthy and plays at a very high level again, something that seems unlikely) it's rather pointless to move him.

 

[Niten Ichi Ryu]

Gross. We need Darnell Nurse, he's a heart n soul character type player, our toughest defenseman with a long reach/stick, and he's young. And was he not our best d-man last season?
I see Cancucks and Leafs fans consistently wishing they had Darnell Nurse, in numerous threads,;we should be thanking our lucky stars we have him.
I actually really like his development so far, in 2-3 years, he's going to be an absolute beast back there

 

[Drivesaitl]

Others have mentioned it but Nurse is trying to do too much. He's very driven, also wants to develop the offensive side of his game which he quietly has.

Nurse is young and already has 17 goals. Unlike the slightly higher scoring Klefbom Nurse goals don't come from the point. They come from spectacular trailer rushes into the play and based on his excellent skating to be able to get to open spots. His goal the other night was beautiful, nice finish as well.

He has 3 goals already this season on a club that significantly lacks D goal scoring and we want to move him? This is timing specific as well because Klefbom was having trouble finishing anything for a long time. Only recently has Klef started scoring again.

I would wait to see the Hitchcock influence and in time see what works as a pair for Nurse. The reality is this player is at an age that he should still be sheltered. We don't do that well here. Sekera injury probably doesn't help.

I'm not positive Nurse is overjoyed though at his relative standing here. His agent might be in his ear. I considered him part of the core but its pretty clear the Org isn't feeling that way. I think its very sad, but wouldn't surprise me if Nurse is gone before the season is out or in offseason. I don't see him being back next year in Chia world.

 

[Shathar]

I'm not positive Nurse is overjoyed though at his relative standing here. His agent might be in his ear. I considered him part of the core but its pretty clear the Org isn't feeling that way

That would be a shame. I love Nurse, he's a real heart and soul player. And I have also wondered if his devaluation has bothered him this season.

 

[LTIR]

Keep him unless we can package him for an upgrade ...
Ristolainen/Pietrangelo/ Gotsobhere