Sharks acquire Darnell Nurse, huge cap hit included, from Edmonton Oilers

SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks’ transformation on defense continued on Wednesday, as they acquired veteran defenseman Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect forward Zack Sharp.

Nurse has four years left on his eight-year, $74 million contract he signed with the Oilers in 2021. The Sharks, flush with salary cap space, are taking on all of Nurse’s $9.25 million cap hit.

The Sharks earlier Wednesday signed free agent right-shot defenseman Jacob Trouba to a four-year, $33 million contract.

“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,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “He brings significant leadership qualities and experience from his time in Edmonton, which will be valuable to our group. We’re excited to have a player like him join our organization.”

Coming off an inconsistent season with the Oilers in which he had just 24 points, his lowest total since 2016-17, Nurse, who turns 32 in February, had requested a trade from Edmonton last month. Nurse, who has a full no-movement clause in his contract for this upcoming season, was reportedly looking to join the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers or Boston Bruins.

But when a trade with those teams did not materialize, Nurse expanded his list to include the Sharks, who are hoping to make the playoffs next season after a seven-year postseason drought. Nurse has 324 points and a plus-66 rating in 798 career NHL games.

The Sharks now have $14 million in available cap space.

Mukhamadullin, a restricted free agent, just finished his first full NHL season and had 12 points in 50 games.

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