NHL NOTEBOOK: OILERS’ DARNELL NURSE HAS ONE OF THE WORST VALUE CONTRACTS IN THE LEAGUE
There may not have been an Edmonton Oilers player to take more heat throughout the playoffs than Darnell Nurse.
His struggles were significant, as the big defenceman was not at the top of his game, and the opposition scored 25 goals against the Oilers with him on the ice, four more than his next closest teammate. There was little that went right his way, but the team was still able to find its way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn has dove into the best and worst value contracts in the NHL, highlighting how Oilers winger Zach Hyman was one of the top values in the entire league, with his contributions on the ice equal to that of an $11.3-million player — $5.8-million more than his contract is actually worth.
But on Thursday, Luszczyszyn looked at the worst values in the NHL, with Nurse coming in at No. 9. According to his model, the blueliner provides value at the rate of a player making $5.9-million, a total of $3.35-million below his $9.25-million deal.
The biggest problem here is that Nurse was never a $9.25 million defenseman to begin with — that just happened to be the price tag for a lot of young defensemen who were at the time. Nurse played a similar role, but his results weren’t anywhere close. Now the Oilers are paying for that.
At his best, Nurse is a capable top-pair option who can play tough minutes, but that isn’t enough to warrant such a hefty price tag. That makes it difficult to envision a path where Nurse starts living up to the money. Unless he somehow takes a massive leap at 30, this deal will continue to be an albatross on Edmonton’s books.
Nurse still provided to the Oilers this year, driving offence at a four percent rate above league average and defence at a league average rate, according to HockeyViz.com, who pegged his value as that of a second-pairing blue liner, right around where he’s been for the last four seasons.
His name came up as a potential trade option this summer by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, appearing 19th of 20 players in a late May list, later being No. 29 of 30 in a late June list. During the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars, Seravalli wrote about some of the long-term and short-term issues the Oilers face with Nurse.
Laine trade talks hit a pause
While the Stanley Cup Playoffs still were raging on in the midst of June, word came out that the Columbus Blue Jackets and winger Patrik Laine would be working together to find the Finnish sniper a new home.
Laine, 26, was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets one pick before the Oilers took his fellow countryman Jesse Puljujarvi in the 2016 draft, and he spent the first four seasons of his career there in Manitoba. But a trade brought him to Ohio, where he’s had struggles over the last four seasons, scoring 64 goals and 138 points — respectable numbers — playing in just 174 games.
Injuries have been an issue for Laine, and last January, he stepped away from the game and entered the NHL/NHLPA’s Player Assistance program.
Now, Blue Jackets president and general manager Don Waddell has said trade talks have hit a standstill as prospective teams are hoping to speak with Laine ahead of a trade. While Laine is eligible to be traded while in the program, no teams — including the Blue Jackets — are able to speak with him.
“Teams keep checking in to see if there’s anything new,” Waddell told The Athletic. “I tell them, ‘You guys have to be comfortable with (Laine), and I can’t help you.’ I don’t know the player personally. I’m not one to try and trick people either, so (we) made him available to chat (when he’s cleared).”
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2024-07-18T22:29:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd