Darnell Nurse is coming off one of his best seasons he’s ever had with the Oilers. After putting up 36 points in 56 games, and adding a +/- of +27, the 26-year-old defensemen was rewarded for his efforts with an eight-year contract extension this offseason worth $9.25M AAV, making him one of the highest-paid defenders in the NHL.
With Adam Larsson being gone, it looks as though the Oilers will be relying on Nurse to take over a lot of top-line ice time, and will be leaning on him as the clear #1 on the blue line going into the new season.
Nurse had an impressive 16 goals last season, and with him likely being alongside Tyson Barrie to start the year off, the offensive power is there, but Nurse will be carrying the load on the defensive side to make up for Barrie’s lackluster defending skill. It’s very possible Nurse will be playing on the penalty kill, as well as the second powerplay line, so he has opportunities to prove he wasn’t overpaid by any means, but it also gives him a lot of chances to mess up, so fans are going to have to go easy on him.
The veteran leadership of Duncan Keith could play a factor into whether Darnell Nurse is able to continue his prime success for much longer. Keith was a solid top 2 D through the prime years of Chicago’s deep playoff runs and has three Stanley Cups to show for it. Keith has a winning attitude and knows what it takes to play as an elite defensemen in the league. Although Nurse is the better player, he doesn’t yet have Keith’s experience, and learning from a legend will help everyone on the team, especially Nurse, who only wants to get better and prove to everybody that he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
2020-21 Season Grade: A
36 points and a +27. Nurse was easily one of the best players on the Oilers last season, and he’s proving time and time again that he’s working himself into conversations for best in the league. Nurse will be taking on much more responsibility this year not only with ice time and special teams, but he likely will be looked too as a mentor for Evan Bouchard, who is more than likely getting his first full season in the NHL
If there was anything to pick on about Nurse’s season last year, it’s tough to find anything to complain about. Nurse was consistent, he put up the points, he was good in his own zone, he was a leader in the dressing room, everything you’d want in a defenseman you’ve put $74 Million towards over the next eight years.
The only real worry is if the stress of living up to his contract will get to him. Nurse is known to be good in clutch scenarios, and when it gets down to the wire he’s always one of the first guys that’s put out on the ice. But now he has to deal with everyone being picky about every little move and decision he makes.
2021-22 Stat Prediction: 15 Goals, 35 Assists, 50 Points.
I truly believe Nurse will only feed off of his momentum coming into the next season. His offensive side will remain the same, if not even get better when he plays with two of the best players in the NHL on a nightly basis.
Defensively, I don’t think Nurse has anything to prove, but he has to stay where he was at last year. He has been working this offseason on everything he can as I’ve seen on social media, so he needs to translate that hard work into the games, which I don’t think he’ll have much of a problem doing.
Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m really high on the addition of Duncan Keith. His leadership, his experience, everything he has can help out everyone on the team, specifically though, I think Nurse can, and will learn a ton from the Blackhawks legend.