Social media X user Big Head Hockey pointed out that Oilers' Darnell Nurse earns more money than some elite NHL players, which is hurting the team's success. Darnell Nurse is a physical presence at 6'4 and 215 lbs., but his $9.25 million cap hit is a heavier burden for the Edmonton Oilers. <a href='https://puckpedia.com/player/darnell-nurse' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Signed in 2022 to an eight-year, $74 million contract</a>, Nurse's deal runs through 2030, deep into his projected prime. The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn graded it the ninth-worst NHL deal at signing, opining that Nurse's on-ice contribution was worth more like $5.9 million per year. <h3>The Oilers could have saved almost $30 million with Nurse's true value contract</h3> The gap, over $3 million per year, works out to an estimated $27 million of cap excess over the life of the contract. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/ginohard_/status/1936151646767399357'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> The issue isn't just financial. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/player/darnell-nurse-8477498' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Nurse</a> has dropped on the depth chart, losing his first-pairing status to Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard, as well as most of his power-play and penalty kill minutes. His plus-minus has declined, his puck control remains suspect, and his defensive decision-making has become a liability, especially in clutch-postseason games that we recently saw. What's more concerning for Edmonton, though, is the effect on their roster flexibility. The Oilers are now forced to re-sign Bouchard, with estimates suggesting a deal in excess of $10 million annually. Having two defenders earning upwards of $9 million each is a luxury not many teams can handle, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl/news/matthew-schaefer-scares-off-nhl-scouts-after-he-makes-unexpected-darnell-nurse-comment' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>particularly one who is only playing like an upper-pairing player.</a> Nurse's inflated contract is hamstringing the Oilers' ability to build the depth necessary to make a championship run. Edmonton, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl playing at their highest level, can't squander their Cup window on one high-priced contract that would lock up cap space better spent elsewhere.