Oilers trade defenceman Darnell Nurse to Sharks, sign blueliner Ryan Shea

Darnell Nurse (centre) in action for the Oilers against the Anaheim Ducks in Edmonton on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Codie McLachlan

Darnell Nurse is done in the Alberta capital.

Edmonton traded the defenceman to the San Jose Sharks for fellow blueliners Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp as part of a chaotic opening to NHL free agency Wednesday.

Selected seventh overall at the 2013 draft by the Oilers, Nurse has 88 goals and 236 assists for 324 points to go along with 725 penalty minutes in 798 regular-season games.

The 31-year-old from Hamilton has added 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 100 playoff games, including Edmonton’s two trips to the Stanley Cup final in 2024 and 2025.

Nurse has struggled to live up to the eight-year, US$74-million contract he signed with Edmonton in 2021. He had just seven goals and 24 points in 82 games in 2025-26 for the Oilers, who didn’t retain any salary in the swap.

The Oilers wasted little time spending some of the cap space freed up by the Nurse deal, signing free-agent defenceman Ryan Shea to a five-year, $20-million pact.

“We’re certainly trading away a very good player in Darnell who ate up a lot of minutes,” Oilers GM Stan Bowman said. “We’ve got two defencemen now coming in that are going to be able to bring different elements to the table, but I think all in all it’s going to be a big boost for our defence.”

Shea, 29, had six goals and 29 assists in 80 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.

The Oilers also re-signed forward Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year, $2.6-million deal and acquired goalie Devon Levi — and a 2028 seventh-round pick — from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2028 third-rounder.

Once a top goalie prospect, Levi played this entire past season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.

“The most important thing was to find a good young goalie that I think has a lot of promise to his game,” said Bowman, adding that netminder Tristan Jarry would be back next season.

“His most recent success has been in the American League, and I think he’s probably knocking on the door, waiting for that opportunity. So we see a lot of upside in his game.”

The Sharks added defenceman Jacob Trouba, forward Mason Marchment and goalie Eric Comrie in free agency.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2026.

The Canadian Press