Suggested Offseason Swap Sees Ducks Land Oilers’ Nurse

The Edmonton Oilers have yet to trade Darnell Nurse, despite his trade request coming weeks ago, and the lack of a move seems to be holding the team back from making any significant changes to their roster heading into the 2026-27 season.

While the Oilers are trying to be patient and make the right move, rather than panic and take back a bad contract that doesn’t allow them to clear enough cap space, they are wasting time and losing out on potential trade targets.

One of the main reasons Nurse hasn’t been traded yet is because he refuses to expand his trade list. Several reports claim there are teams interested in bringing Nurse in, but he doesn’t want to waive his trade protection to be traded there. One of the teams loosely linked to him, that he reportedly doesn’t want to join, is the Anaheim Ducks.

In this article, we take a quick look at what a potential deal between the Oilers and Ducks involving Nurse would look like. Keep in mind, this is purely hypothetical, and while there is some speculation the Ducks have interest, there is no indication the two teams have had advanced discussions about a potential move.

I am assuming, in this hypothetical deal, that Nurse is willing to waive his trade protection for the Ducks.

Oilers Clear Cap Space, Ducks Add Veteran Defender

The Oilers likely won’t be able to clear Nurse’s entire $9.25 million cap hit in any trade. Whether they are retaining salary in a trade, or bringing back a contract to even things out a little bit, they will likely have to be happy clearing around $5-6 million at most.

With that being said, one name that stands out from the Ducks that could be sent back to the Oilers is Frank Vatrano. Vatrano is a 32-year-old forward who had nine points through 50 games last season. Through 695 career games, he has scored 186 goals and added 139 assists for 325 points.

Vatrano has a $4.57 million cap hit and is extended through the 2027-28 season, so if the two teams traded across with no retention, the Oilers would be creating just under $4.7 million in cap space. Realistically, the Oilers could flip Vatrano elsewhere for close to nothing, but for the sake of getting Nurse off of their team, this deal makes sense.

The full deal would look like the Ducks acquiring Nurse in exchange for Vatrano and a seventh-round pick in 2027. The Ducks bringing in Nurse makes it easier for them to stay above the cap floor, and they add a veteran left defender, which is one of their needs this offseason.

The Oilers add a late draft pick and someone who could either step onto their third line, or that they could immediately flip elsewhere for future considerations.

Vatrano isn’t someone that the Oilers would likely want to see in their bottom-six forward group, based purely on the fact he may struggle to fit their system and struggled at both ends last season, so, flipping him after the Nurse deal makes sense.

We’ll see what happens, but if the Oilers want to trade Nurse, they’re going to have to get creative, and this is one way they could do it.

As the 2026-27 season approaches, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news, updates, and more from around the NHL and the hockey world.