Senators could actually find an upgrade in Darnell Nurse

One of the hottest names to hit the NHL trade market is Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. However, Nurse, despite being a solid blueliner, has a contract that very few teams would even go near.

But given the circumstances, the Ottawa Senators might actually find an upgrade in Nurse. During an appearance on Daily Faceoff, insider David Pagnotta discussed the Sens’ plans to upgrade the right side of their blueline.

Yes, Nurse would constitute an upgrade. But what Pagnotta suggested as the path forward might make some Senators fans cringe.

Pagnotta suggested that the Senators could be looking to move RFA defenseman Jordan Spence in exchange for a more suitable right-shot D-man.

A Spence-for-Nurse trade is one that the Oilers would take any day of the week, especially if it means dumping the 31-year-old's $9.25 million cap hit on the Senators.

But that’s unlikely to be the case. Even if Senators GM Steve Staios were willing to go with a Nurse-for-Spence swap, there’s no way Staios would take on Nurse’s full cap hit. Even if the Sens could actually fit it under the cap, it just doesn’t make sense.

There could be, nonetheless, a situation in which such a move could make sense for Ottawa.

Oilers would have to pay Senators to take Nurse

Let’s assume for a minute that Nurse was willing to waive his no-trade clause to head to Ottawa. At that point, the Oilers are faced with two paths.

The first path would be to retain something on Nurse’s contract. Most teams would ask for a 50% retention. Nurse at $4 million-plus would be all right. But that’s something that the Oilers are loath to do.

So, that opens up the second path. The Oilers might have to pay the Senators to take on Nurse’s full cap hit. That price could entail something like a first-round pick or a prospect.

As ridiculous as it may seem for the Oilers to pay a first-round pick to rid themselves of Nurse’s cap hit, the fact is that Edmonton doesn’t really have much of a choice. It’s either pay up to get rid of his contract or bite the bullet on retaining for the next four seasons.

It’s a tough business, but them’s are the breaks. That’s a situation the Senators can take advantage of, potentially fleecing the Oilers.

If that may seem a little too cutthroat for some fans, bear in mind that if the situation were reversed, the Oilers might not have too many qualms about fleecing the Senators.

So, it remains to be seen if the Senators might be willing to take a chance on Nurse.