Nurse is right on that front. This is an important season for him, with the Oilers trying to break in a new defence partner on the second pairing and Nurse needing to up his game after a sub-par season last year. In a Stanley Cup window, the team needs the six-foot-four defenceman to be his best now more than ever.

With four preseason games left on the schedule, Knoblach plans to play Nurse for one, if not two, of those outings before the beginning of the 2024-25 regular season, per NHL.com. “We feel Darnell is going to be ready for regular season,

After being 60 minutes from their first Stanley Cup celebration in 34 years, the Edmonton Oiler defence is in a state of flux with Cody Ceci traded and Vincent Desharnais gone in free-agency but the blueline alterations will be less if Darnell Nurse gets back to being Darnell Nurse.