The Edmonton Oilers finally did what everyone thought they should have done two years ago. They got rid of Darnell Nurse’s contract. And the San Jose Sharks, desperate for anyone who can play defense, decided to take on the full $9.5 million cap hit for the next four years.
The trade itself is simple. Nurse heads to California. The Oilers get back Shakir Mukhamadullin, a former first-round pick who has played 83 NHL games, and a prospect named Zack Sharp. No salary retained. No future cap pain. Just a clean break.
Stan Bowman’s first big move as Oilers GM
This trade happened on the first day of free agency, so it’s technically Bowman’s first major transaction since taking over in Edmonton. And for a guy who needed to make a good first impression, getting out from under Nurse’s deal is about as clean a win as you could ask for.
Nurse was never worth that $9.5 million. Not when Evan Bouchard took over the top power-play spot. Not when the Oilers needed goaltending help and secondary scoring. He’s a solid defenseman being paid like a star. And in the salary cap era, that kind of overpay hurts your ability to build a real contender.
The Oilers made two Stanley Cup Final appearances with Nurse as their highest-paid blue liner. But nobody watching those runs thought he was their best defenseman. Bouchard was. Mattias Ekholm was. Nurse was just the guy making the most money.
Mukhamadullin is 23 years old. He’s got size (6-foot-4), he moves well, and he was drafted 20th overall by New Jersey in 2020. The Devils traded him to San Jose as part of the Timo Meier deal. He’s not a sure thing, but he’s cheap and young. The Oilers didn’t get a star back. They got cap relief and a lottery ticket.
San Jose rolled the dice on experience
The Sharks knew they had a problem on defense. Macklin Celebrini just put up 115 points as a 19-year-old rookie. The kid is already a superstar. But the team couldn’t stop anybody. So Mike Grier went out and signed Jacob Trouba and traded for Darnell Nurse on the same day. Two veteran defensemen, both overpaid, both with term.
On paper, the Sharks’ blue line is better than it was last week. Trouba and Nurse aren’t what they used to be, but they’re still NHL players. And in San Jose, that’s a step up. The problem is the four-year term. Celebrini’s entry-level deal runs out after next season. He’s going to get paid. A lot. And if Nurse or Trouba’s salary makes that negotiation even slightly harder, this trade looks bad fast.
But the Sharks also didn’t give up much. Mukhamadullin was a prospect they weren’t sure about. Sharp is a throw-in. So the cost of acquisition was basically nothing. The risk is entirely financial. And San Jose has cap space right now. Whether they still have it in three years is another question.
Grier also stocked up on defensive prospects in the draft, grabbing Keaton Verhoff and Ryan Lin in the first round. So the pipeline is there. The question is whether Nurse and Trouba can hold the line long enough for those kids to develop. The Sharks want to make the playoffs next year. This trade helps them do that. But it doesn’t solve the long-term problem.
Grades for both sides
The Oilers get a B+ for the simple reason that they unloaded a bad contract without eating any money. Bowman didn’t give Nurse that deal — that was Ken Holland’s mistake — but he was the one who fixed it. That counts for something.
The Sharks get a C-. They addressed their biggest weakness, which was defense. But they did it by paying two guys who are past their prime. If the goal is to make the playoffs next season, fine. If the goal is to build a sustainable winner around Celebrini, this might be a problem down the road.
The good news for San Jose? They still have plenty of cap space. The bad news? Nurse and Trouba are both signed for four more years. And four years in the NHL is a long time to hope a 30-year-old defenseman doesn’t decline.
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