{"id":490452,"date":"2026-10-09T15:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T15:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/490452\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T15:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T15:04:11","slug":"darnell-nurse-all-smiles-with-san-jose-sharks-after-exiting-edmonton-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/490452\/","title":{"rendered":"Darnell Nurse all smiles with San Jose Sharks after exiting Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

One by one, San Jose Sharks players streamed into the visiting team\u2019s dressing room<\/a> at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, happy but perhaps a bit fatigued after a tough overtime win.<\/p>\n

Defenseman Darnell Nurse\u2019s mood<\/a> was unmistakable, though.<\/p>\n

As he high-fived staff and other players, Nurse wore a big smile, understandably, just a couple of minutes after scoring at the 1:03 mark of the extra session to lift the Sharks to a 3-2 win<\/a> over the Blues on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust want to say, thanks, guys,\u201d Nurse said in the room<\/a> after his teammates selected him as player of the game. \u201cThe last couple months, (there\u2019s) been a lot of change. You guys have welcomed me and my family in, and it\u2019s incredible. So, thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safe to say, waiving the no-movement clause<\/a> in his contract this summer to come to San Jose after 11 seasons<\/a> with the Edmonton Oilers seems to be working out for Nurse, and for the Sharks.<\/p>\n

Going into Saturday\u2019s game against the Oilers at SAP Center, Nurse is third among all Sharks skaters with an average of 20:58 in ice time, and with Tuesday\u2019s win, San Jose (3-1-0) is off to its best start in five years.<\/p>\n

Nurse and Michael Kesselring, paired since training camp began, have been the Sharks\u2019 best defensive duo so far this season.<\/p>\n

With more ice time in 5-on-5 play than any other pair, Nurse and Kesselring have allowed only one even-strength goal<\/a> in four games, compared with a combined seven goals allowed by the three other defensive pairs the Sharks have trotted out this month.<\/p>\n

On his overtime goal, Nurse came off the bench for an exhausted Jacob Trouba, zipped into the Blues\u2019 zone, took a pretty cross-ice pass from Ivar Stenberg and fired a shot past Blues goalie Joel Hofer for his first goal in a Sharks uniform.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to yell off the bench, but (Stenberg) has eyes,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cHe sees the whole game. I was able to make a nice move there and pull up and just got the puck on the middle of my stick and just shot to the middle of the net there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happy to have you in Teal, Doc. \ud83e\ude75 pic.twitter.com\/CMQ5BsIoGi<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Mobbed by teammates after the goal, Thursday\u2019s scene was a far cry from Nurse\u2019s final days with the Oilers.<\/p>\n

After consecutive years of reaching the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers were ousted in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks in six games in April.<\/p>\n

Although goaltending has seemingly been an issue for the Oilers in recent playoff runs, Nurse still felt he absorbed a disproportionate amount of blame for the team\u2019s failure to win a Stanley Cup, even with all-world forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in their respective primes.<\/p>\n

Much of that blame stemmed from Nurse being, for years, one of the NHL\u2019s highest-paid defensemen without a commensurate return, with his eight-year contract carrying a $9.25 million average annual value.<\/p>\n

In Edmonton, the Oilers were reportedly frustrated enough<\/a> to discuss scratching Nurse for Game 7 of the 2024 Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. The Oilers ultimately didn\u2019t scratch Nurse for the game, which the Panthers won 2-1 at home, but he averaged only 15:51 of ice time in the series, about six minutes less than during the regular season.<\/p>\n

Fast forward two years, and Nurse\u2019s time in Edmonton was running out. He initially agreed to be traded to Philadelphia, Boston, or Pittsburgh, but those teams wanted the Oilers to retain some of his salary, something general manager Stan Bowman wasn\u2019t eager to do.<\/a><\/p>\n

When Nurse, whose contract includes a full no-movement clause, agreed to be dealt to the Sharks, who were OK with no salary retention, the trade was completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one expects more of myself and the way I play than myself,\u201d Nurse said after the July 1 trade<\/a>. \u201cIf I\u2019m being quite honest, Joe from down the street could be mad because he can\u2019t drink his beer and watch the second round of playoffs, but I live with each and every game \u2014 each and every moment \u2014 throughout the summer, and try to learn from it, grow from it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were things, when you have a high cap hit, that were definitely warranted, and my play warranted. And if you look, you could probably see a lot of things that weren\u2019t warranted. But for whatever reason, I was the problem. That\u2019s sports, though. That\u2019s how it works. In big markets, you\u2019re never going to sell newspapers, you\u2019re never going to get attention, without going negative.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone has to bear the brunt of that. When you\u2019re making a lot of money, and you aren\u2019t performing, and there were a lot of moments where I felt I needed to perform better (you become a target). And once you become a target, that target isn\u2019t moving off you. For me, it\u2019s a fresh start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurse, 31, was one of the most popular players inside the Oilers\u2019 dressing room, but the change of scenery has been welcomed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it was time,\u201d Nurse said recently.<\/p>\n

Trouba was in a similar position, as he left the New York Rangers in a tumultuous departure in Dec. 2024, when the team traded him to the Ducks. Trouba said Rangers general manager Chris Drury threatened to place him on waivers, where any team could claim him, if he didn\u2019t waive his 15-team no-trade clause. That\u2019s when Trouba agreed to be dealt to the Ducks.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers go through ups and downs throughout their career,\u201d Trouba said last month when asked about Nurse. \u201cHe gave his heart and soul to Edmonton and wanted to win there and put everything he had into doing that, and then you get removed from that situation. You\u2019ve got to kind of figure out where you\u2019re going, what you\u2019re doing, and what you want to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes a fresh start is good. I think for me, I thought that it was good for me to just kind of get out and play hockey again, enjoy coming to the rink with a smile on my face, and hopefully we can kind of feed off each other and have a lot of fun together this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seems like they\u2019re on their way.<\/p>\n

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