The Philadelphia Flyers don't necessarily have to make a splash move this offseason, considering they have to retain Trevor Zegras on a new contract, while signing goalie Dan Vladar to an extension. But, bringing in a big-name player certainly wouldn't hurt the Flyers, considering they have a surplus of young talent to make a trade, with center and defenseman being areas general manager Danny Briere could improve upon.
Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings felt like a perfect player, but it's unknown if the Flyers would make it onto his expanded trade destination wishlist. One other player hit the trade market, and that's Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. On Thursday, the defenseman requested a trade from the Oilers, and gave them a list of three-to-five teams he'd accept a trade to. It appears the Flyers are one of those teams on his list.
Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that she heard there is mutual interest between the Flyers and Nurse. But, it's a matter of how much of Nurse's gargantuan contract the Oilers would be willing to retain.
Per @FriedgeHNIC & @SportsnetSpec, Darnell Nurse has asked for a trade. I am hearing there is mutual interest between Nurse — nephew of Eagles legend Donovan McNabb — & #Flyers. But what would he cost? How much retention is EDM willing to take? And is there another move?
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) June 11, 2026
Flyers should avoid trading for Darnell Nurse
Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman discussed the Flyers as a potential destination for Nurse on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, saying that he would make sense for them.
"There were some reporters, I think Jackie Spiegel was one of them from Philly, who said that they think the Flyers are a team with interest. That would make sense to me. It actually would," said Friedman. "But I don't know what the list is yet. So we'll have to see how it plays out."
That's not an ideal report for Flyers fans, as Nurse is not living up to his contract as one of the highest paid defensemen in the league. Nurse is in the midst of an eight-year, $74 million contract, where he is being paid $9.25 million per year. That's a ridiculous amount of money a team has to commit to pay per year until the end of the 2029-30 season.
Even if a team does decide they are willing to take on Nurse to help out their defensive core, they better hope that the Oilers are willing to retain a chunk of his contract. For the Flyers, he would be an improvement over Nick Seeler, but that salary is just too hard to justify. He played on a team with Connor McDavid, who will pad the stats of any teammates on the ice with him. However, who's to say that Nurse's numbers won't drop off on his new team?
This past season, Nurse recorded seven goals, 17 assists, and a minus-12 plus/minus ratio in 82 games. In his career, Nurse has 88 goals, 236 assists, and plus-66 plus/minus ratio in 798 career games.
Nurse does have Philadelphia roots. He is the nephew of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who helped lead the franchise to Super Bowl 39 and is the franchise leader in passing yards with 32,873.
Sure, the Flyers may be able to get Nurse on a cheaper return if they opt to take on the majority of his salary, but it's certainly not worth it. Does he provide the Flyers with massive improvement on defense? Probably not. The Flyers would be better off looking for other options at defenseman. Who knows, maybe a top-tier defender could hit the trade block.
