Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks have added another physical top-four defenseman.
On the same day that they signed 6-foot-3 right-hander Jacob Trouba, the Sharks acquired 6-foot-4 Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers for Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp.
Nurse, 31, is signed until 2030 with a $9.25 million AAV. In the last three years of the deal, he has a 10-team trade list. There is no salary retention in this deal.
Nurse had seven goals and 24 points in 82 games, averaging 20:58 per game. He’s surpassed double-digit goals four times and 30-plus points seven times.
He was a power play regular in Edmonton until last season, and will surely be a penalty-killing staple for the San Jose Sharks.
Nurse was a key cog in back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances for the Oilers in 2024 and 2025, but Edmonton was taken out in the first round this season.
On Nurse’s side, he appeared to be looking for a change of scenery, after spending his entire career with the Oilers. Initially, the Sharks were not on what was reported to be a five-team trade list, but earlier today, it was reported that Nurse was willing to expand his list.
Mukhamadullin, 24, is an RFA. The 2020 New Jersey Devils’ first-round pick was a centerpiece of the 2023 Timo Meier trade, but the 6-foot-4 defenseman never fulfilled his potential with the San Jose Sharks.
Sharp is a 2025 fourth-round pick, a 6-foot-2 blueliner who skated with Western Michigan this past year.