If the Philadelphia Flyers really do decide to trade with the Edmonton Oilers and acquire Darnell Nurse, any realistic scenario ends in a win for them, no matter what.
Social media tells a different story, but Nurse, 31, is a very serviceable and solid NHL defenseman.
Typecast as a No. 1 for the Oilers for a longtime, and given an annual $9.25 million albatross cap hit, Nurse does some things well, and other things not so well.
A fluid athlete and a nephew of Eagles legend Donovan McNabb, Nurse thrives using his legs, toughness, physicality, and skill, though his decision-making and hockey IQ have consistently held him back throughout his career.
That's a fine gamble for the Flyers, though.
In recent years, smaller defenders like Cam York and Emil Andrae have established themselves as NHL defenders, while Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen underwent career renaissances with the Flyers after some bleak years.
Plus, Jamie Drysdale and Nick Seeler, who each looked like a lost cause at this level for different reasons, found homes with the Flyers and leveled up drastically year over year.
With the amount of talent Nurse has, and with a better supporting cast at his position, there is no reason to believe he can't do the same in Philadelphia, even at his age.
The trade cost for Nurse is obviously going to be the main sticking point, both for the Flyers and for the Oilers.
Flyers Weighing Ambitious Trade for $74 Million Oilers DefenderThe Philadelphia Flyers will consider a stunning trade for a big-money Edmonton Oilers defenseman... at the right price.On one hand, the Oilers are hoping to rid themselves of as much as Nurse's $9.25 million cap hit as they possibly can without paying an egregious price to do it.
The Flyers, too, hope to avoid paying an egregious price, whether that's monetary with the salary, or in terms of assets when it comes to paying for salary retention.
Regardless of the outcome, though, the Flyers win.
If they decide to take on Nurse's full cap hit, it will be because they received a sweetener from the Oilers that they simply could not turn down.
Something of that magnitude would assuredly come via players like Isaac Howard, Beau Akey, and Matthew Savoie, and/or a first-round pick.
And if the Flyers can convince the Oilers to retain money on Nurse's salary, they have plenty of spare assets to make it worthwhile.
Andrae, a pending RFA, would be a cheap, solid addition to Edmonton's blue line, and the Oilers may also see this as an opportunity to add mid-round draft picks to replenish their future draft capital.
The Flyers do not have fourth- or fifth-round picks this year, but they do have two third-round picks in 2027, as well as their fourth and fifth that year.
And, maybe the Oilers consider picking up the signing rights to a goalie, such as Flyers pending RFA Sam Ersson, too?
Each side has lots to offer to the other, though it, of course, comes down to finding a palatable middle ground that benefits both sides to an acceptable degree.
On paper, for the Flyers, adding a skilled, experienced veteran like Nurse comes with few downsides. It just comes down to business, at the end of the day.
