The Edmonton Oilers had decided to splurge on defenseman Darnell Nurse’s extension in August 2021, as reported by Capwages. Why exactly are we bringing this up now? Two-in-a-row defeat, at the mercy of the Panthers. Despite their best efforts and collective star power within the team, the Oilers missed out on winning the holy grail of hockey, the Stanley Cup. At Oilers’ Nation, maybe the first loss was forgivable. But this year? This year, according to fans, was a blunder, and every bit of that downfall is being dissected. 

The Oilers’ front office is under fire now, and for what? Darnell Nurse’s handsome eight-year contract extension worth $74,000,000, which included a signing bonus of $24,000,000 from 2022, was insured with a non-movement clause. For the 2025-2026 season, his average annual salary is $9,250,000. That’s $9,250,000 of the Oilers’ cap space blocked, which fans aren’t happy about. 

Before taking a deeper look at fans’ negative and hilarious comments on Darnell, let’s try to understand his stats from the 2024-25 season. The veteran defenseman has played 76 games in the 2024-25 season. In these 76 games, he managed to score 5 goals and made 28 assists. And his average time on ice was 22:22 minutes. And finished with just one game-winning goal of the entire season.  

He was sidelined after one upper-body injury in November 2024. As Kris Knoblauch said, “He’s doing as good as he can. Obviously, we’ll take our time and make sure that he’s ready when he does return.” But that injury alone cannot be attributed to the mediocre performance, unlike his contract figures, which have left the Oilers’ fans fuming. 

If you look at his playoff statistics, Darnell scored eight points, which consist of three goals and five assists only. But if we compare these with other players from the team, we can draw something which justifies fans’ negative reactions to Nurse’ performance. If we compare him to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ playoff stats, with a $41,000,000, eight-year contract has scored 6 goals and assisted 14 times. 

In the case of Evander Kane, he entered the postseason and scored a total of 12 points, which includes 6 goals and 6 assists. And guess what? Kane is approaching unrestricted free agency. He had a four-year, $20,500,000 contract with the Oilers for four years. So, Darnell Nurse’s stats are pale in comparison with that of Nugent Hopkins’ and Evander Kane. We now know why fans are not convinced of Nurse’s eight point value to his performance in both the regular and postseason.

NHL fans are still hung up on Darnell Nurse’s huge contract and are connecting the fully guaranteed $74,000,000 with his contribution to the Oilers team, after losing the cup for the second time in a row. Netizens are losing it, and we can see why. 

Oilers fans fuming over Darnell Nurse’s contract after Stanley Cup loss 

After Big Head Hockey dropped the update on X, fans reacted to Darnell Nurse’s massive contract. One of the fans commented with a hilarious take, “That roster needs a f—— surgeon at this point. Not a Nurse.” He also faced criticism for his overall performance and penalty minutes. Because of this, the Oilers have suffered particularly in crucial moments. He acknowledged the need for improvement, especially in penalty discipline, to give the team a better chance in the series. 

Well, the reassurance failed to be convincing. One fan remembered the early days when he had heard about Darnell for the first time, “I was told by Oilers fans how great he is.” People also criticized the Oilers GM’s decision, “Definitely one of the worst contracts in the NHL. Huge expensive mistake that will undoubtedly prevent the Oilers from winning the ultimate prize,” implying the same. The main problem we see here is the no-trade clause in his contract. This might have led fans to believe that the Oilers will forever regret this misstep.

By the end of his contract, he will be 34 or 35 years old, i.e. around the same age that Brad Marchand is currently playing like it’s still his prime but visibly not at the same level or form. Players are at the risk of becoming complacent when they sign a dream contract, thereby lacking the competitive spirit for betterment. Accompanying this thought is this fan’s comment which reads, “His contract and his contract alone is the only reason McDavid couldn’t get over the hump… 😂This is why no one really follows that big head count 😂😂😂😂.”

And lastly, one fan just couldn’t get over the confusion of Nurse’s playing as a defenseman and his inversely proportional contract, “His contract and his on-ice play are equal head scratchers.” In Darnell Nurse’s 11-year-long NHL career, his best seasons were  2018-19, 2020-21, and 2022-23. In 2018-19, he managed to score 41 points, out of which 31 were assists. He scored 16 goals, 20 assists with a 25:37 average time-on-ice, in 2020-21. In 2022-23, he scored 43 points, which includes 12 goals. 

This begs the question: Did the Oilers block their cap space with a hasty contract that ultimately resulted in their own downfall? Let us know in the comments below.