{"id":42052,"date":"2025-08-02T14:58:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/42052\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T14:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:58:09","slug":"edmonton-oilers-darnell-nurse-not-one-of-nhls-worst-contracts-based-on-new-model-the-hockey-writers-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/42052\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton Oilers’ Darnell Nurse Not One of NHL’s Worst Contracts Based on New Model – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been harped on for years that Edmonton Oilers<\/a> defenceman Darnell Nurse<\/a> is overpaid. It\u2019s a running joke among many fan bases in the NHL, while Oilers fans are forced to do nothing other than admit defeat. There has arguably been no bigger whipping boy <\/a>in Edmonton in recent years than Nurse, who has failed to live up<\/a> to his eye-popping $9.25 million cap hit. Adding to the bitterness from the fan base is that the deal still has five seasons remaining on it.<\/p>\n

Related: Edmonton Oilers Should Strongly Consider Signing Kuznetsov<\/a><\/p>\n

Some have gone as far as to say Nurse has the worst contract in the NHL, while others believe he is only slightly overpaid and wouldn\u2019t be talked about in a negative light if he were making just a few million dollars less. Based on a recent analytics model from The Athletic, those who fall into the latter half may be correct. (from \u2018Dom Luszczyszyn: NHL\u2019s 10 worst contracts, 2025 edition: Jonathan Huberdeau, Ivan Provorov and more,\u2019 The Athletic, 07\/31\/25).<\/p>\n

Nurse Deal Not as Bad as Some Think<\/p>\n

As they do every year, The Athletic posted a model that ranks the top 10 worst contracts in the NHL. This is a list that Nurse has been on in the past, though it\u2019s worth noting that he\u2019s never been considered the worst contract on the model.<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s been largely forgotten about, considering he struggled yet again in the playoffs, Nurse was actually quite good in 2024-25<\/a>. In fact, aside from the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season, one could make the argument it was his best season as an NHLer. His offensive numbers were about what you\u2019d expect, with 33 points in 82 games, but it was his defensive play that really stood out. He wasn\u2019t nearly as erratic as we\u2019ve seen at times in the past, and instead relied on the simple play more often than not.<\/p>\n

Whether it was in part due to this season or others on big contracts struggling even worse, Nurse was not included on the list of the top 10 worst contracts in the NHL. This list instead included Jonathan Huberdeau, Ivan Provorov, Chandler Stephenson, Brady Skjei, Nicolas Hague, Sean Couturier, Ryan Pulock, Sam Bennett, Cody Ceci, and Tanner Jeannot. Recency bias may have had a slight part in this, as four contracts on the list were signed this offseason.<\/p>\n

\"DarnellJun 12, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) celebrates scoring against Florida Panthers during the second period in game four of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, five defencemen appeared on the list, and none carry a cap hit higher than Nurse. The closest is Provorov, who signed an extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> that will see him earn $8.5 million over the next seven seasons.<\/p>\n

What this goes to show is that, as frustrating as Nurse is to Oilers fans, his contract is no longer as bad as some would like to make you believe. Now, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s good, because it certainly isn\u2019t, but it isn\u2019t the true boat anchor many suggest. It will only continue to hurt less in the years to come as well, as the salary cap is supposed to continue increasing at a rapid rate.<\/p>\n

Now, it does need to be mentioned that Nurse didn\u2019t avoid the list by a whole lot. Dom Luszczyszyn, the author of the article, had the Oilers defenceman as one of several players in his honourable mentions list. Those names, in order, were Will Borgen, Brad Marchand, Nurse, Brandon Montour, and Mikael Granlund.<\/p>\n

Related: 5 Reasons the Edmonton Oilers Will Be Better in 2025-26<\/a><\/p>\n

Still, not being on a very reputable source\u2019s list as one of the worst contracts in the NHL has to feel good for Nurse, who is undoubtedly aware that his contract isn\u2019t viewed in a favourable light. Whether it be from social media, fans, analysts, or even chips from opponents on the ice, he\u2019s certainly heard plenty that he\u2019s among the worst deals in the league. Perhaps another season like he had in 2024-25, and another year not included on the mentioned list, the noise around him having such a bad contract will start to quiet down in a rather dramatic fashion.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been harped on for years that Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse is overpaid. It\u2019s a running joke…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,29972,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-42052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-darnell-nurse","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}