Oilers 2025-26 Report Cards: Darnell Nurse

As the offseason rolls on, so do the Edmonton Oilers’ player grades. The last report card graded Spencer Stastney, and now we turn our attention to Darnell Nurse. The Oilers’ blueliner continues to be a topic of conversation among the fan base for all the wrong reasons.

Nurse has been extremely disappointing since he inked his massive eight-year contract extension with a hefty $9.25 million cap hit. He hasn’t even come close to living up to that deal. His contract has set the organization back, and it’s a huge reason why the Oilers haven’t won a Stanley Cup in the Connor McDavid era. His contract has limited management’s ability to fill the glaring holes in the lineup and improve the team. With that said, Nurse isn’t a bad player; he’s just overpaid and has underperformed. Let’s reflect on his 2025-26 season.

2025-26 Performance

The veteran defenceman played all 82 games for the fourth time in his career. He recorded seven goals and 24 points while finishing minus-12, averaging 20:58 per game. He also had a career-high 104 penalty minutes. This was his worst plus/minus campaign since he was a minus-13 in 69 games during the 2015-16 season. This was also his least average ice time and lowest point total since he averaged 17:01 in 2016-17 and registered 11 points in 44 games.

Nurse didn’t record a point in the playoffs, but he was a plus-4, which was third on the team, and led all defencemen. Unfortunately, Nurse will be remembered for all the pucks that deflected off him and into the Oilers’ net. While that could be considered unlucky, it happened far too often. If he’s going to block a shot, he needs to make sure that he’s entirely in the shooting lane. He led the team with 167 blocked shots in the regular season and added 12 more in the playoffs, good for third on the team. While he was good at blocking shots, sometimes he needed to let the goalie see the puck and make the save. He tried to do too much, and it cost some goals.

Nurse Had Different Partners

The 31-year-old started the campaign alongside Jake Walman. That duo played 376:15 at 5-on-5 and didn’t have great numbers. They had 50.94 percent of the shots, 44.09 percent of the scoring chances, 43.79 percent of the high-danger scoring chances, and 47.50 percent of the goals.

The Oilers acquired Connor Murphy at the trade deadline, and he replaced Walman as Nurse’s partner. That new duo found more success. In 289:13 at 5-on-5, they were on the ice for 55.35 percent of the shots, 50.64 percent of the scoring chances, and 49.49 percent of the high-danger scoring chances. More importantly, they were on the ice for 57.14 percent of the goals, 10 percent more than Nurse and Walman.

The Hamilton, Ontario, native played his best with Murphy. Your $9.25 million defenceman should be able to play with anyone, but that’s not the case. Last season, he played his best with Troy Stecher but struggled with other partners. He’s supposed to help elevate his teammates, especially as an alternate captain. However, he requires other players to help elevate him.

Overall Grade

Nurse needed to provide more offensively, considering his salary. But, since he didn’t, he had to be better defensively, which he also wasn’t. He doesn’t do enough to help the team at either end of the ice. Last season, he was given a C- grade. At the end of the day, he is what he is, and we shouldn’t expect much more from him. Unfortunately, he gets a D+ grade for this season. His offensive production was worse than last season, and his defensive play wasn’t any better. Therefore, he deserves a lower grade. He was a big part of Edmonton’s defensive struggles.

Despite having a no-movement clause, Nurse has been involved in trade speculation. The Oilers could look to make a big splash this offseason and offload some salary. Nurse’s days in Edmonton could be numbered, and a trade may be on the horizon.

Do you agree with his grade? Keep following The Hockey Writers as we continue the Oilers’ player report cards throughout the offseason.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick