If it means 50 percent retention on Nurse’s AAV, Edmonton must consider anything that improves their Stanley Cup chances across McDavid’s two-year contract.
Nurse would have to waive his NMC for any deal, of course, but after more than a decade in Copper and Blue, might he want a respite from the pressure cooker anyway?"
Larkin said.
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Media personality Jason Gregor reported on his Sports 1440 show that the organization is open to moving the veteran blueliner despite pushback from internal team leaders.
"People have talked about moving [on] from Darnell Nurse. I think people in the organization are open to it.
The leadership group wasn’t overly open to it.
So, when I hear people say, ‘Well, you’ve got to listen to your captain,’ well, to a point, because everybody has a bias.
Great guy, they love him, I get all that. But if the bang for your buck isn’t there, it’s not there," Gregor said.
Goaltending Overhaul Underway
Simultaneously, Edmonton is shifting its strategy in net by deciding not to re-sign unrestricted free agent goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The team must find a partner for Tristan Jarry, who holds two years remaining on his contract at $5.4 million annually.
Jarry recorded a .
858 save percentage across 19 league games after being acquired from Pittsburgh in December 2025 and started only one playoff game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Unrestricted free agent Connor Ingram started the other five.
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The Oilers are reportedly considering external options such as Detroit's Sebastian Cossa, St. Louis's Jordan Binnington, and Montreal's Sam Montembault to resolve their goaltending tandem for the 2026-27 season.
