Oilers retool roster, sign Andersen in free agency after trading Nurse

EDMONTON -- Darnell Nurse agreed it was time for a change, which opened the door for the Edmonton Oilers on the first day of NHL free agency. 

They then wasted little time walking through it.

Trading Nurse to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp on Wednesday, afforded Edmonton the salary cap flexibility to sign goalie Frederik Andersen, defenseman Ryan Shea, forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Max Jones, Eduards Tralmaks and Mathieu Joseph, and trade for goalie Devon Levi.

It turned out to be a productive day for Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman. 

“I wanted to start off by recognizing Darnell Nurse,” Bowman said Wednesday, prior to Edmonton signing Kapanen, Jones, Andersen and Joseph. “We made a difficult decision to part ways with a true competitor, a lifelong Oiler, a tremendous teammate, tremendous member of the community. I really enjoyed getting to know Darnell and having him on the team. He’s a class act, nobody competes harder for his teammates than Darnell, so that’s difficult when things like this happen. So, we certainly wish him and his family well.” 

Nurse had four years remaining on an eight-year, $74 million contract with a $9.25 million average annual value, he signed Aug. 6, 2021. 

San Jose absorbed the entire contract, and Edmonton did not have to retain any salary, which was a key in the transaction.

“Without salary retention, it was very important for us,” Bowman said. “The way San Jose was set up, they were in a different spot cap wise, and they had the flexibility there.

“It was a deal we were fortunate to be able to make.”

The trade took some finessing, as Nurse admitted San Jose was not originally on his destination list once he agreed to waive his no movement clause. Nurse eventually came around to San Jose and is looking forward to a fresh start after 11 full seasons in Edmonton. 

“For me, I went through a deep dive of what I thought was best, and I also talked to a lot of people that I respected, in hockey and outside of hockey, and every time I brought up San Jose, even though they were not on my small list, (they said) that I’d be crazy not to go there,” Nurse said. “It’s an amazing opportunity and for me, and I’m really happy that it happened.” 

Nurse’s departure is an end of an era in Edmonton as one of the core pieces of a rebuild along with forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The three began playing together in 2015-16 after McDavid was selected No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft. 

The Oilers went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, losing to the Florida Panthers both times, and lost in the Western Conference First Round to the Anaheim Ducks in six games this past season. 

Nurse was selected by Edmonton with the No. 7 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He had 324 points (88 goals, 236 assists) in 798 games and averaged 22:30 minutes of ice time in his tenure with the Oilers. He had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 82 games this past season and did not have a point in the first round against Anaheim.

“I had lots of good memories in Edmonton, but now that chapter closes,” Nurse said. “Sometimes, it’s just time to go and you feel that personally and you have to stick to your gut.” 

Bowman believes Mukhamadullin and Shea will help fill the void left by Nurse. 

Mukhamadullin, 24, is a restricted free agent and will still have to come to terms on a new contract. He was on a one-year, $1 million contract last season.

Shea signed a five-year, $20 million contract ($4 million AAV). He played the past three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and had 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 80 games this season.

“With Mukhamadullin, he’s a big kid and is still kind of coming into his own right now,” Bowman said. “There’s a few things that caught our eye with his game. He played more on the right side this year than the left, even though he’s a (left) shot. He’s got that long reach, he’s a big frame. He’s pretty skinny right now, I think he can put on a little bit of weight, but he takes up a lot of space out there and we liked his game.” 

Shea, 29, was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 121 pick of the 2015 NHL Draft. He is going into his fourth NHL season. 

“Ryan Shea, he’s a player that I’m familiar with. I actually drafted Ryan way back when,” Bowman said. “He’s come a long way from those years. I thought he had an outstanding season this year. He was one of those players that we targeted in our meetings leading up to today, hoping if we could get some cap space we might be able to bring him in.” 

Edmonton also signed Kapanen to a one-year, $2.6 million contract, Jones to a one-year, $850,000 contract, Tralmaks to a one-year, two-way $850,000 contract, and Joseph to a one-year, $1 million contract. 

They signed Andersen to a one-year, $2.8 million contract fresh off his Stanley Cup win with the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Andersen, 36, started 16 playoff games for Carolina and had a 13-2 record with a 1.89 goals-against average with a .910 save percentage, before making way for Brandon Bussi in the last three games of the Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Prior to trading Nurse, the Oilers acquired Levi along with a seventh-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft for a third-round pick also in 2028. 

The 24-year-old played with Rochester of the American Hockey League last season. He had a 23-20-9 record in 52 games with a 2.83 GAA and .904 save percentage. 

Levi also played 39 games (36 starts) in three seasons with Buffalo and had a 17-17-2 record with a 3.29 GAA and .894 save percentage. 

Tristan Jarry is the third goalie on the Edmonton roster, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.  

“The most important thing was to find a good, young goalie that I think has a lot of promise to his game,” Bowman said. “With Devon Levi in Buffalo, he has played 30 or 40 NHL games, so he’s not totally new to the opportunity, but his most recent success is in the American League and he’s probably knocking on the door for an opportunity.” 

Levi won gold with Team Canada at the 2023 IIHF World Championship and silver at the 2021 World Junior Championship. He was also on the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing roster, but did not play. 

“It’s a great opportunity,” Levi said. “I’ve just been patient the past few years and just working on my game and I knew that opportunity will come. I was just taking the time to improve, and when the time comes, I’ll be ready. This feels like it’s coming at the perfect time and I’ll be ready.”