The Philadelphia Flyers want to upgrade their blue line and are looking down several avenues at several defenseman that they can acquire to do so. One of those defensemen is Darnell Nurse and now we know more of what the trade talks between the Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers are like, and what a future trade could look like.
We know that the Flyers are interested as much as one team can be when getting a player that their current team so desperately wants to get rid of. We know that Nurse himself has submitted a list of three teams that he will accept a trade to: The Penguins, the Bruins, and the Flyers. And we know that the Flyers will not do a trade unless the Oilers retain at least a portion of his $9.25 million cap hit.
So that’s it. Interest in all parties to get a deal done and now we’re just maybe settling in on some details. Now we at least know a little bit more of those details.
New details emerge about potential Darnell Nurse trade to the Flyers
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta appeared on Oilersnation Everyday on Tuesday and really dove into the ongoing saga of Darnell Nurse and why a trade hasn’t been made yet. And more specifically, what pieces could be on the move from the Flyers.
“I think there is a deal with Philly with [salary] retention of around $2.6 to $3 million, something along those lines — Pittsburgh wanted more. I don’t know the full parameters of that deal. I’ve heard Nick Seeler,” Pagnotta said.
Pagnotta further reports that the Oilers do not want to retain at all — or at least minimize the retention — and are therefore pushing Nurse to be more willing to accept a trade to the Anaheim Ducks or the San Jose Sharks, who have more money to play with.
“I’m a little surprised this hasn’t already happened, to be honest,” Pagnotta said. “There are some elements there that tie this to the Oilers wanting this to happen, Nurse wanting this to happen, but he also wants it on his terms, as per his right, given his contract.
“For now, it’s Philly or bust unless he changes his mind for the Ducks or the Sharks.”
Pagnotta then went into how that might open up further. In a hypothetical scenario where the Pittsburgh Penguins fail to get help on their blue line via free agency, they could come back to the Oilers and are willing to play ball more in regards to how much of Nurse’s salary that want Edmonton to retain.
So, yeah. While there have been whispers — or fans hypothesizing — that Nick Seeler would be the player sent the other way to Edmonton, this is more concrete. The 33-year-old blueliner has two years left on his contract that carries a $2.7-million AAV. By moving Seeler for Nurse, the Flyers are essentially massively upgrading that left side of their defense and spending around $4 million more per year to do it.
That is, if that is the full deal. As Pagnotta mentioned, the full parameters of the trade is unknown but we can guess there is some collection of draft picks or minor prospects going one way or the other, if there’s anything more than just Nick Seeler for Darnell Nurse with a solid amount of his salary retained.
Why hasn’t this Nurse-to-Flyers trade already happened?
If there is actual interest from all parties to make this deal work — since it does seem like it’s “Philly or bust” for Nurse and the Flyers have put forth some sort of trade package, why hasn’t this happened already?
Well, there’s a couple things.
As it has been reported around the NHL, the availability or reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets is kind of putting a big pause to any other defenseman moving. More specifically, the big boys like John Carlson and Darnell Nurse are now seen as backup plans if a team can’t land Werenski.
The Flyers are extremely aggressive in their pursuit of Werenski, as acquiring one of the best defensemen in the world could change everything for the team and give them that No. 1 blueliner that they haven’t had in forever. And of course they won’t just give a big ol’ thumbs up to that trade to acquire Nurse, because it could affect their ability to keep Werenski past the last two years of his contract.
They could theoretically make this Seeler-for-Nurse swap and then if they include Cam York (for example) in that trade with the Blue Jackets for Werenski, then the roster spots would stay the same and the upgrade to that blue line would be immeasurable. But, with Nurse being under contract for four more seasons, that can get a little bit messy if they want to keep Werenski around. It shouldn’t be a lot but if they have a not-so-good Nurse in two years taking up $6.5 million of their cap space, then that might not be so favorable.
Of course, this is in a fantasyland where the Flyers are going to be at the top of Werenski’s trade list and they could put forward an enticing enough package for Columbus to accept a trade within the division. So, maybe the reason why we’re hearing more details is because the Flyers have been told that their trade offer isn’t good enough and now they’re moving on.
The other thing that could be holding this trade back is Seeler’s full no-trade clause. For the first two years of Seeler’s contract, he had a full no-trade clause so he got full control of any potential trade. That goes away on Wednesday when the next NHL season technically begins.
Now, could the Flyers just go through the process of asking Seeler if he is willing to waive to go play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? Yeah. Could he reject it and use his power given to him? Possibly. He seems like he really enjoys playing in Philadelphia and might not want to move if he had a choice. But also in reality, asking him two days before he no longer had a no-trade clause, he should understand the writing is on the wall and this deal could happen no matter what — all they have to do is wait.
Well all that hypothetical situation does not matter anymore as the Flyers don’t need Seeler’s permission to trade him this week.
We could very well see this all come to fruition as soon as Wednesday when the gates of free agency opens, and now we know more of what to expect.
