The Athletic recently posted an article about potential Darnell Nurse suitors in a trade and the Ducks were listed as one of those destinations for the Oilers defenseman. Despite Nurse's leadership qualities and the supposed need for another veteran on the blue line for Anaheim, GM Pat Verbeek should stay clear of the pitfall of such a trade.
Too much of a cap hit and not enough juice
Nurse would count for a whopping 9.25 million against the cap for the next four years. That's just a touch over the 9 million for Jackson LaCombe, who resigned last offseason with the Ducks. Nurse had just 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) in 82 regular season games for the Oilers. In the first round of the 2026 playoffs against the aforementioned LaCombe and the Ducks, Nurse had 0 points, while averaging 23:08 of ice time. Conversely, LaCombe had 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists) and averaged 27 minutes of ice time against the Oilers in the playoffs, which not only lead all defenseman for the Ducks, but catapulted LaCombe onto the national stage.
LaCombe is having himself a game despite having one of the toughest match ups possible against Connor McDavid pic.twitter.com/rgozFXWMX2
— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) April 25, 2026
Nurse's 2025-26 regular season offensive totals were just a shade above the Ducks other left-handed defenseman. Olen Zellweger had 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 76 games, while Pavel Mintyukov had 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games. While Verbeek has definite choices to make on the future of the Anaheim blue line, Nurse would not be an upgrade on any of the young defenseman the Ducks currently have on the roster.
Younger, not older
Verbeek has a penchant for trading for older defenseman and Nurse would definitely fit the bill. However, the Ducks already have three veteran defensemen in need of extensions, and Nurse would just complicate the problem. Shedding one or two veteran contracts would be a boon for the Ducks blue line but blocking another youngster such as Stian Solberg with a Nurse trade, would just create another unnecessary roadblock. As tempting as Zellweger and Mintyukov are as potential trade pieces, they are much more equipped to be part of the Ducks' future.
What could a trade look like?
Obviously, the Oilers would have to retain some salary, as the Ducks have to sign two core foundational pieces this offseason; Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier. While the Ducks would still have more than enough cap room, after signing the young pair for approximately 20 million, Verbeek cannot afford to hamstring the future of the franchise on a depreciating asset, such as Nurse. The Oilers do not have a first round pick for the next two years, so a roster player would have to added as a sweetener.
Final thoughts
A Nurse trade would be a bad idea for Verbeek and the Ducks. If Anaheim wanted a veteran defenseman, they could just resign one of Jacob Trouba, John Carlsson, or Radko Gudas instead. Outside of the unsigned veterans, the Ducks have more than enough in-house options to fill the voids created by any departures.
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