Oilers Insider Names Two Contracts So Expensive They’re Essentially Buyout-Proof

The Edmonton Oilers are facing a crossroads. After a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, the front office has already started shaking things up. Mike Babcock’s name is floating around as a potential new head coach, and the roster itself could look different by the fall.

But according to Frank Seravalli of Hockey247, not every contract is on the table when it comes to buyouts. He identified two players whose deals are so structurally punishing that buying them out would create more problems than it solves.

Darnell Nurse: Stuck in Edmonton?

Nurse recently requested a trade, which might make a buyout seem like an option. But it’s not that simple. The defenseman holds a no-movement clause, which protects him from being traded, waived, or sent to the minors — but it does not block a buyout. However, the math makes a buyout nearly impossible to justify.

Nurse’s contract is loaded with signing bonuses spread over the next four years. Buying him out this offseason would leave the Oilers with a $7.717 million cap hit for the upcoming season — a savings of just $1.5 million. After that, the savings shrink to $733,000 over the following three seasons. Then the real pain kicks in: four years of dead cap space with no savings at all. It’s a financial anchor that makes more sense to keep than to cut loose.

Tristan Jarry: The Goaltending Dilemma

Jarry’s situation is equally tricky. The netminder carries a deal that, if bought out this year, would save the Oilers just $670,000 this season and $1.167 million the next. But the kicker is the dead cap hits in 2028-29 and 2029-30 — nearly half a million dollars in each of those seasons. The team has not confirmed any plans to move on from Jarry, but the numbers alone make a buyout a non-starter.

Neither contract offers enough present-day relief to justify the long-term dead money. And with the Oilers already up against the cap, locking in future penalties for such small savings is a losing play.

For Edmonton, the path forward probably involves trades or simply riding out these deals. Buying out Nurse or Jarry isn’t just unlikely — it’s practically unthinkable given the math.