The Anaheim Ducks might have bested the Edmonton Oilers in their recent postseason encounter, but the free agency market is currently besting the Anaheim Ducks.
Defensemen John Carlson and Jacob Trouba, the former of which was acquired in a shocking deadline deal that ended his tenure in Washington, are both set to head to free agency, leaving the Ducks without a critical part of their veteran presence heading into next season.
It seems the Ducks have a solution, with Marco D'Amico reporting that the team is looking to move young forward Mason McTavish for a "top-four, right-shot defenseman."
Building on this, and absolutely unsurprising, sources have told me that he'd be prime trade bait for a top-four, right-shot defenceman.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) June 17, 2026
There's potential for a Jacob Trouba return, but in absence of that, it's a position they wish to solidify with John Carlson leaving. https://t.co/9VK4DHJGkU
Could Anaheim present an out for Edmonton in the Darnell Nurse saga?
Though Nurse is left-handed, his ability to play both sides of the blue-line could keep Edmonton in consideration.
Besides the shot part of the description, Edmonton fits the bill. Nurse has been a top-four defenseman for much of his tenure with the Oilers and he is capable of providing blue-line scoring.
The issue is that it remains to be seen if Nurse will include Anaheim on his trade list. The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly working towards acquiring Nurse, with a deal potentially set to take place sometime before the draft. What will encourage Oilers and Ducks fans alike is that the teams that Nurse has given the Oilers the green light to talk to include division rivals like the Los Angeles Kings. The San Jose Sharks have also been mentioned as a potential destination for Nurse.
If Nurse is willing to include division rivals on a trade list, then it's at least plausible to suggest that he would accept a move to Anaheim. After all, the Ducks' defense has operated with veteran talent for the past few seasons. Given that this same Ducks' defense is heading for an exodus, the front office could be more than willing to continue the system with Nurse at the helm.
What would a trade with the Ducks look like?
In the simplest terms, acquiring McTavish would require that the Oilers send Nurse the other way.
The rest of the package could consist of the Oilers ask for a second or third-round pick in this year's draft. There's also a possibility that the Ducks ask for a pick swap as a sweetener, with the Ducks acquiring a third-round pick while sending their second-rounder Edmonton's way. Having two second-round picks would more than likely give Edmonton the leverage required to pick a defenseman at some point in the early rounds of the draft.
The second option seems like the more realistic one. If the Oilers took the second option, they would be able to free up to $2 million in cap space, which would give them almost $17 million to try and bring in a defenseman or two to continue filling the gap left by Nurse. Simply picking a defenseman doesn't make the Oilers more likely to win the Cup, though it does put them in a better position to continue being better on the defensive end of the ice for the long run.
Add us as a preferred source on Google