Edmonton Oilers Trade Defenseman Darnell Nurse to San Jose Sharks for Two Defensemen

The Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks on July 1, 2026. The Oilers received defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp in the exchange. Nurse, 31, is entering the fifth year of an eight-year contract that carries an annual average value of $9.25 million.

He was the Oilers' seventh overall draft pick in 2013 and played 798 regular-season games over 12 seasons with the team, recording 88 goals and 324 points. In the 2025-26 season he appeared in all 82 games, scoring seven goals and 24 points while averaging 20 minutes and 58 seconds of ice time.

Nurse had been part of the Oilers' leadership group and played on the teams that reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2024 and 2025.

He initially preferred a trade to the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers or Pittsburgh Penguins, sources said, but agreed to San Jose after those options did not develop. The Oilers also signed free-agent defenseman Ryan Shea to a five-year contract with an average annual value of $4 million on July 1.

They acquired goaltender Devon Levi and a 2028 seventh-round draft pick from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2028 third-round selection.

The Sharks had already signed forward Mason Marchment and defenseman Jacob Trouba to contracts and acquired defenseman Michael Kesselring, whom they signed to a new deal, before completing the Nurse trade.