Terrible look for Darnell Nurse in Edmonton

When some of the players from the Edmonton Oilers met with media members on Wednesday for the exit interviews for the 2023-24 season, following their Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers, captain Connor McDavid and star forward Leon Draisaitl were first to step on the podium.

Several others players, and then management, faced questions as well, however, fans quickly noticed how one member of the leadership group was not available for the interviews.

Defenseman Darnell Nurse did not take part in the press session, which most fans saw as a terrible look for the blue liner.

In the regular season, and possibly even more so in the playoffs, Nurse faced a ton of criticism for mistakes made on the ice. Critics have pointed to his high annual salary, and his on-ice struggles, particularly during this year’s playoffs as a minus-9.

Nurse even landed in trade rumours in the past week, despite having six years remaining at a $9.25 million AAV on his current contract with the Oilers.

He has been labeled as a problematic contract, and the fact that he did not show up to answer some tough questions about his deal, performance, expectations and future simply looks bad.

I believe Nurse has some great potential, and often he does not get the credit he deserves when he does perform well on the ice. However, with a new general manager coming in to Edmonton, and the opportunity to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals next summer, with a different result, Nurse should be showing how serious and invested he is in making the Oilers champions.