Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers haven’t opened their 2025–26 season the way they hoped. Both teams have dealt with their own issues, but there could be a trade that might make sense for both sides and could potentially help each team turn their seasons around. The trade in question would be the Oilers sending defenseman Darnell Nurse to the Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Morgan Rielly.
Nurse is 30 years old and will turn 31 in February, Rielly is 31 and will turn 32 in March. Both players have four years left on their contracts, and both would need to approve the trade. Now the contract is where things get a little finicky, as Nurse currently has a $9.25 million AAV cap hit while Rielly’s cap hit is $7.50 million AAV. To complete a deal, Edmonton would need to retain some salary or include another player to make it work.
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Darnell Nurse
The Oilers drafted Nurse seventh overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He’s spent all 12 seasons of his NHL career with Edmonton. Nurse played in 742 career games, recording 310 points on 86 goals and 224 assists. He’s a career +68 with three power-play goals, six shorthanded goals, and 13 game-winning goals. He has 1,364 blocked shots, 1,593 hits, and 660 penalty minutes. Nurse finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting back in 2020-21. In 94 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has 29 points on seven goals and 22 assists. He’s a minus-seven with a shorthanded goal. Nurse has 104 penalty minutes, 199 blocked shots, and 232 total hits.
Morgan Rielly
The Maple Leafs drafted Rielly fifth overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He’s spent all 13 seasons of his NHL career with Toronto. In 897 career games, he has 533 points on 91 goals and 442 assists. He’s a -26 with 15 power-play goals, a shorthanded goal, and 16 game-winning goals. Rielly has 1,233 blocked shots, 800 hits, and 254 penalty minutes. He finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting in 2018-19. In 70 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, he has 47 points on 15 goals and 32 assists. He’s a +12 with two power-play goals and two game-winning goals. He has 139 blocked shots, 111 total hits, and 35 penalty minutes in the playoffs.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.