The Philadelphia Flyers already got a head start on their offseason plans, acquiring goalie Joseph Woll from the Toronto Maple Leafs to serve as the backup behind Dan Vladar, which thus ended their need to re-sign Sam Ersson. The team also has to work on contract extensions with Vladar and forward Trevor Zegras. Besides that, Flyers fans are undoubtedly wondering what the Flyers will do to help bolster their chances of contending for the Stanley Cup next season.
The free agency class is not filled to the brim with top talent, making the trade block the best bet for teams. Philadelphia does have a need at defense, so perhaps that could be one of their targets. One name that has been linked to them was Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, who requested a trade this month. Nurse does have a no-trade clause and provided a list of teams he'd be interested in. It now appears that Nurse has his preferred landing spot — Philadelphia.
Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos unveiled his latest trade board ahead on Monday. When discussing Nurse as a trade candidate, Kypreos has heard that Nurse wants to get traded to Philadelphia.
Darnell Nurse reportedly prefers trade to Flyers
"With a no-move clause, Nurse is in control of his destiny for one more year before his contract goes to a 10-team list. I'm hearing his preference right now is Philadelphia where he has family ties to his quarterback uncle Donovan McNabb," writes Kypreos. "However, the rival Pittsburgh Penguins may also be a factor here. Kyle Dubas has his eye on Nurse and wants to add muscle to the back end."
It's no secret that Nurse does have ties to Philadelphia, as Kypreos points out. His uncle is Donovan McNabb, who was the star quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles for 11 seasons. While that is all well and good that he would prefer to go to the Flyers, they'd still have to work out a deal with the Oilers.
While Nurse is by no means a bad player, his contract is a tough pill to swallow. Nurse has four seasons remaining on an eight-year, $74 million contract, where he is set to count for $9.25 million against the cap each year. That is a huge contract that any team would have to pick up. It's not currently known if a team is willing to do so, so that may have to result in the Oilers retaining some of Nurse's salary throughout the remainder of the contract. Even with the $32 million in projected cap space, it'd be preferable to not taking on a nearly $10 million a year cap hit for a defenseman who hasn't been at his best as of late.
This past season with the Oilers, Nurse recorded seven goals, 17 assists, a minus-12 plus/minus rating (his lowest since 2015-16 season), and a career-high 88 giveaways.
Maybe Nurse would serve as a contingency plan if Rasmus Ristolainen walks after next year. But it would be preferred to see what it would take the Oilers to retain some of the salary remaining on the contract. As Kypreos mentions, the rival Pittsburgh Penguins are also in the running for Nurse.
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