Darnell Nurse could become surprising trade target for Flyers

Apr 8, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (25) looks up at the scoreboard during a break in the action against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

The Edmonton Oilers have become the most talked-about team this offseason, and it’s not for good reasons. The mess that has become the Oilers has now led to a high-profile player, Darnell Nurse, asking for a trade.

What’s interesting is that this trade request is not really news. It’s been in the cards for a while. What is news is the fact that the Nurse could become a surprising trade target for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Right off the bat, it might not seem there's a connection between the Flyers and Nurse. But there might be a family connection that could make this deal reasonable.

As it turns out, Nurse is a nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. That's a bit of a convenient link that could make a potential trade between the Oilers and Flyers plausible

But would that be enough to interest the Flyers in trading for Nurse? At least the familiarity between the player and the organization would get the ball rolling.

Plus, the chatter is that Nurse wants to play for an East Coast team. Well, the Flyers would constitute one of those.

However, the family connection, as strong as it may be, might not be enough to convince the Flyers that Nurse is their guy. Sure, the Flyers could use another veteran right-shot defender who plays a strong, physical brand of hockey. But his $9.25 million cap hit for four more seasons could be enough to scare off Daniel Briere.

That's why it may not be all that feasible for the Flyers to land Nurse, unless the Oilers retained salary on Nurse's contract or the acquisition cost was so low that it didn't really matter. In the latter case, the family connection could be just the thing to get Nurse to waive his no-trade clause and head to Philadelphia.

Flyers face steep cost to land Nurse

The cost to land Darnell Nurse is steep. It’s steep insofar as his onerous cap hit. Nurse has four more years remaining in his contract at $9.25 million.

While the Flyers have over $37 million in cap space at the moment, Nurse’s cap hit could eat into the cap space that could be earmarked for Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras. Of course, the two combined wouldn’t cost $37 million.

But as we’ve seen in other cases, cap space can quickly erode. The Flyers still need to sort out their backup goaltending situation, extend Dan Vladar, and determine what to do with their current UFAs.

That’s why adding Nurse’s full cap hit might not be the savviest choice. But there is one reason why it would make sense to take on the full cap hit. If the Flyers agreed to it, the acquisition cost would be extremely low. The Flyers could get away with sending someone like Christian Kyrou back to Edmonton and calling it a day.

The only way the Oilers could ask for more than a mid-tier prospect is if they retained Nurse’s salary. And even if they did, the Oilers won’t retain more than, say, 25%. That’s why the Flyers are one of the teams uniquely positioned to land Nurse.

It’s an interesting situation to consider for sure. Flyers fans shouldn’t be surprised to hear more about this potential trade in the coming days.