Darnell Nurse joined the San Jose Sharks in a trade deal with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, July 1, for Shakir Mukhamadullin and the rights associated with Zachary Sharp.

But after the Sharks took to their official X account to confirm the new development in a post, their fans were very critical of Nurse’s signing in the comments section.

“The Sharks acquire Darnell Nurse from the Oilers,” wrote the franchise on X, accompanied by a creative, including his photo and the details of the trade deal with the Oilers.

“Darnell is a strong, veteran, mobile defenseman who eats up top-pair minutes against some of the best talents in the NHL, and brings a physical element every shift,” said general manager Mike Grier on the Sharks website. “He brings significant leadership qualities and experience from his time in Edmonton which will be a valuable to our group. We’re excited to have a player like him join our organization.”

Prior to joining the Sharks ahead of the 2026-27 season, Nurse played only for the Oilers in his entire NHL career in the last 12 seasons.

After the Oilers selected him as the No. 7 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, he made his debut for them on October 14, 2014, against the Los Angeles Kings. Following his struggles in the first three seasons with them, he turned a corner in the 2017-18 season with 26 points (6G / 20A) and 153 blocked shots.

In the nine seasons from 2017-18 onwards, Nurse always scored 24 points or more and accumulated 100 blocked shots or more while playing for Edmonton. Ultimately, his career numbers added up to 324 points (88G / 236A) and 1,467 blocked shots in 798 regular-season games.

He got 24 points (7G / 17A) and 167 blocked shots in 82 appearances during the 2025-26 season.

Nurse also competed in 100 Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Oilers, recording 29 points (7G / 22A) and 212 blocked shots. He was a part of the Cup Final with them twice, which they lost to the Florida Panthers 4-3 and 4-2, in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

“It's exciting for me,” said Nurse in his first comments after joining the Sharks, as per NHL.com. “It's a change, a new market, a fresh start in a lot of senses. But it's also exciting to play in the division I played in my whole career, whether Edmonton is in it or not. It's a familiar division to me, and I'm really looking forward to playing with San Jose.”

While Nurse sounded happy about being a part of the Sharks, their fans were having none of it.

Sharks fans react to the signing of Darnell Nurse in a trade deal with the Oilers

When the San Jose Sharks announced the signing of Nurse in a trade deal with the Edmonton Oilers, their fans called it out on social media in more ways than one.

“Is the future teal or is the future the worst opening fa day in franchise history many are asking,” wrote a Sharks fan.

Notably, Nurse put pen to paper on an eight-year, $74 million contract with the Oilers on October 6, 2021, and it commenced from the 2022-23 season onwards, as per Puckpedia.com. With that, the Sharks will be taking over the $9.25 million average annual value (AAV) on his deal from the Oilers for the 2026-27 season and beyond.

A few Sharks faithful were not happy about Grier, deciding to sign Nurse for such a high AAV in their estimation.

“Boooooooooooo… One of the worst contracts in hockey. Paying Nurse the full $9M for four seasons without Edmonton taking any salary on is insane. Like a lot of Grier’s moves but this is atrocious,” one of them said.

“Worst trade in Sharks history. Worse than EK65. What on earth is Grier thinking. A 31-year-old guy who's washed and still owed 9+ million for 4 more years but you can't resign Mario. It's July 1st not April 1st,” remarked another.

This fan compared the situation to the Sharks' acquisition of Erik Karlsson, who battled injuries throughout his early years with the Sharks and never fully returned to his elite form.

One of the Sharks fans wanted Grier to reverse the trade that brought Nurse to the franchise. “Tell GMMG return receipts usually last 30 days and it's not too late to take this one back,” he wrote.

“Notice how nobody's happy about it,” a Sharks fan spoke on behalf of many in the comments section of the X post from the franchise.

Fans were unhappy with him because of his expensive contract and his scoreless 2025 playoff run.

Will Darnell Nurse’s signing prove to be a bad one for the San Jose Sharks? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

Read more at NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar