The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers had one of the most electrifying Stanley Cup Final matchups in recent history. The Panthers were able to take down the Oilers in seven games, after almost blowing a 3-0 lead in the series. The Oilers have taken the offseason to try and bolster their roster in hopes of making another deep run and finally winning their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history, with the additions of Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Josh Brown, and several new rookies who bolster their prospect pool and give them a solid future foundation to fall back on. While both the Oilers and Panthers will be hoping they can have another successful campaign and make it back to the championship series, there is potential for a blockbuster defensemen swap between the two teams, but how likely is it to happen?
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To put it bluntly, there’s a chance, but not a huge one. Both teams are in a position where they need to make a change on their blue line, and swapping defenders could be an idea that benefits both of them. Theoretically, the Oilers would be flipping Darnell Nurse and prospects and picks to the Panthers in exchange for Aaron Ekblad. Now, this seems easily one-sided for the Oilers as they would be getting back a Stanley Cup champion in Ekblad while clearing up a ton of cap space long-term, but it’s not that simple. Ekblad is a pending unrestricted free agent with just one season left on his deal, and the Oilers would have to retain some of Nurse’s long-term contract to make this work, making it a bit of an issue for them. At the end of the day, is something like this possible?
How Would Darnell Nurse Benefit the Panthers?
Nurse is someone who has taken a lot of heat from Oilers fans in recent seasons due to his large contract. While he hasn’t maintained a top defender role, he still plays well in a bottom-four role and as an off-ice leader with the Oilers. He can eat up minutes when needed and has proven to be a solid offensive producer when he has confidence from his coaching staff. Oilers fans have seen stints of Nurse looking like an elite-level player, but they’ve also seen him at his lowest, making his consistency a bit of an issue. However, he can still be a positive addition for the Panthers should they decide to consider acquiring him.
Aside from being a fantastic off-ice presence, Nurse’s long-term deal takes their worries away from having to deal with a player who they need to extend. Nurse does have consistency issues as I’ve already mentioned, but the losses of Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the back end should have the Panthers concerned heading into the 2024-25 campaign, considering those two were huge pieces for their championship run last season.
How Would Aaron Ekblad Benefit the Oilers?
The Oilers need to make a change on their blue line. As much as fans love to criticize him, Nurse isn’t a bad defender, he just doesn’t fit on any pairing. The team would benefit from a fresh face to pair alongside Philip Broberg who has finally shown signs of being a top-four defender at the NHL level, and that fresh face could be Ekblad. He can play a ton each night similar to Nurse, and he likely is a cheaper long-term alternative. At 28 years old, Ekblad could be looking at a 6-8 year extension, but it’s likely he comes in cheaper than Nurse’s average annual value.
With Ekblad being a better fit, the Oilers can afford to use Ekblad as a rental. It may be a huge price to move Nurse and bring in Ekblad, but if they win a Stanley Cup this season, what do they have to lose? Something like this happening between the two best teams in the NHL is slim, but with both teams having someone who has been listed as trade bait heading into the new campaign, this isn’t out of the realm of possibility. It would take a few moving parts for this deal to ever come to fruition, but it’s possible if Ekblad isn’t close to an extension and if Nurse is willing to accept a deal to the Panthers with his no-movement clause in his contract leaving anything like this in his court.
