Connor McDavid gave his opinion on the Darnell Nurse trade for the first time at the Zach Hyman Charity Classic golf tournament in Toronto.

The Oilers traded Nurse to the San Jose Sharks on July 1. This marked the end of his 12-year run in Edmonton, a move made in an attempt to reshape the team's blue line ahead of the new season.

"It's obviously disappointing to lose someone like Darnell and the rest of the guys," McDavid said in an interview as posted by TSN on July 27. "But it's part of the business, unfortunately." 

In the video posted by TSN, McDavid called Nurse's departure difficult, considering that he and Nurse had been teammates for McDavid's entire NHL career. So, losing him meant that it was the end of their 11-year partnership in Edmonton.

Still, McDavid didn't criticize the front office and talked about what Nurse meant to the team. McDavid explained just how much Nurse meant to the group.

"It's been hard to really put into words what Nurse's been to not only me, but the whole group and everybody in Edmonton," he said. "So, extremely disappointed to see that happen."

Edmonton selected him as the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. Nurse went on to a back-to-back run to the Stanley Cup Finals with the team in 2024 and 2025.

The front offices have now been moving on from their long-tenured players for salary cap or performance reasons. Even then, this is not an easy departure for anyone

McDavid expressed his disappointment but with optimism about Edmonton's roster going forward.

"At the same time, really excited about some of the additions," McDavid said. "New coach, some good players. It's an exciting time in Edmonton."

The new players added are Frederik Andersen, Devon Levi, and Mathieu Joseph, among others.

McDavid had to take a difficult approach to the offseason move by accepting it. Meanwhile, Edmonton made efforts to fill the gap.

How Edmonton fills the void

The Oilers sent Nurse to San Jose on July 1 in exchange for defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. They also got the draft rights to prospect Zachary Sharp. Nurse still has four seasons left on his eight-year, $74 million contract that he signed with Edmonton in 2021.

Nurse stands at the fifth rank in the franchise’s overall history among Oilers defensemen with 324 points across his career. He also holds the record for blocked shots and hits by a defenseman. 

To fill the void left by Nurse, Edmonton signed defenseman Ryan Shea to a five-year, $20 million contract, according to NHL.com. Shea scored 35 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, adding insurance to Edmonton's back end.

The 2025-26 season was Shea’s best so far. He played an important role in Pittsburgh getting back to the playoffs and finished with career highs in ice time (19 minutes per game) and points (35).

What do you think about the Oilers moving on from Darnell Nurse? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar