- Elliotte Friedman says Boston has joined Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on Darnell Nurse’s trade list
- Edmonton wants Nurse to open his list to Anaheim, but he hasn’t agreed to it
- Read below for the money holdups stalling every Nurse trade fit
Boston is the newest name in the Darnell Nurse sweepstakes.
Elliotte Friedman said on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Bruins have joined the Penguins and Flyers as teams on Nurse’s list. Edmonton has spent weeks trying to move its highest-paid defenseman, and the group of fits keeps shuffling. A week ago Pittsburgh sat atop the board.
Here’s the latest episode where Friedman laid it all out:
None of the three are clean. Friedman ran through the holdups on each.
“Philly, I just think money has got to go out for him to come in,” Friedman said. “I think Pittsburgh was interested, but Edmonton had to take money back, which they were not willing to do, so that was the challenge there. And Boston, again, I think things would have to happen.”
Then there’s the Anaheim angle, and it’s the strangest one. Friedman was asked where else this could go.
“I think Edmonton is trying to get Nurse to open up his list,” Friedman said. “There is at least noise that Anaheim has interest, but at this point in time, Nurse has not agreed to that. So we’ll see where that plays out over the week.”
The Ducks knocked the Oilers out of the playoffs this spring, so handing them Nurse would sting. Anaheim wasn’t on his original short list either, though David Pagnotta reported last week that the Ducks have serious interest in getting a deal done.
Nurse holds all the leverage here. He carries a $9.25 million cap hit and a full no-move clause, so nothing happens unless he signs off on the destination. The 31-year-old asked out earlier this month and handed Edmonton a tight list of teams.
Stan Bowman passed on a deal at the draft and now the clock is loud. Free agency opens July 1, and the Oilers would love this contract off the books before the market does.
