If the Edmonton Oilers are successful in their goal of trading Darnell Nurse ahead of next season, the team is going to have to figure out how to replace his minutes.

One of Nurse’s strengths has been his ability to remain healthy, and munch minutes for the Oilers. He averaged 20:58 this season, his fewest on average since the 2017-18 season, and over the last three seasons, has played the most penalty kill minutes of any defenceman on the team.

An option for the team would be trading Nurse for another defenceman who could replace some of his minutes, and a swap of Nurse for Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly could make sense for both sides.

Another route for the Oilers could be to attack the free-agent market. While the team may have to retain some of Nurse’s $9.25 million per year contract in order to facilitate a deal, reports suggest the Oilers could get it done with only having to retain roughly $2 million, potentially leaving the team with salary cap space to play with.

Daily Faceoff’s top free agents list dropped weeks ago, and there are a few names on the list that could be options for the Oilers.

Jamie Oleksiak

The 33-year-old has been linked to the Oilers in the past, and has remained an effective........

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