The Oilers and Maple Leafs Talked Darnell Nurse, and the Sharks First Round Pick

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers had talked about Darnell Nurse and Nic Roy

Zach Laing of Oilers Nation: David Pagnotta, on OilersNation Everyday, said that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers talked about a trade involving defenseman Darnell Nurse and now Colorado Avalanche forward Nic Roy.

“We touched on this after the trade deadline. I’ve mentioned it a few times. Nurse’s name was out there the week of the deadline. They offered him up to at least one team; that team said no, that team now has a new general manager.

That team probably won’t go in that direction. They didn’t want to go in that direction before with the previous guy. I can’t imagine new guy wanting to do that. One of the other pieces, part of that deal that Edmonton was looking at, from what I was told, he’s on Colorado right now.

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“Edmonton spoke to Toronto ahead of the deadline to try to make that happen. Obviously, it didn’t. And it was really that close at the time, from what I was told. His name was circulating. They spoke to the Leafs; that didn’t happen. We’ll see where that kind of goes.”

Pagnotta added that the Oilers wouldn’t be freeing up Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million, but lessening the amount and freeing up some flexibility.

The cost for the San Jose Sharks first-round pick went up, and picking the best player available

Max Miller of the Sharks Hockey Digest: The San Jose Sharks moved up from No. 9 to No. 2 in the draft. Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg seem to be the consensus top two picks. Sharks GM Mike Grier said during their exit interviews that he’d be open to trading their first-round pick, but that was back when it was at No. 9. He’d listen now, but the price is obviously much higher now.

“I’m always open to listening to what’s out there, and if people have ideas or thoughts, I’ll listen. We’ll kind of go from there,” Grier said. “I don’t know if it makes it unlikely, but it’s obviously a different price tag trading the ninth pick. That’s probably what the part of the equation that changes.”

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The Sharks are in need of a top-flight defenseman, but Grier said that they’ll pick the best player available.

“When you’re picking at the top of the draft, we always try and go with the best player available. Really, I don’t think we’re gonna pass if there’s a big gap between two players or two positions. We’re not going to, you know, take a player just for need in that situation,” Grier said. “We got to do our homework. We got to dig into it. Most likely we’ll take who we feel is the best fit and the best player available.”

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