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Oilers sign 35-point defenseman from Penguins in free agency after trading Darnell Nurse originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Edmonton Oilers traded away Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks.
Less than an hour later on Wednesday, they had signed a new defenseman: Ryan Shea.
The deal is for five years at $4 million per year, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
That's less than half the salary Nurse was making, so the Oilers still should have space to add more talent.
Shea is a 29-year old, left-shot defenseman originally from Milton, Massachusetts.
He played college hockey at Northeastern University, and he was a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015.
MORE: The Maple Leafs have pulled off the Sergei Bobrovsky signing
It took Shea until the 2023-24 season, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, to make his NHL debut.
He played 31 games and then 39 games across his first two Penguins seasons.
Only in 2025-26 did he really break out. He appeared in 80 games, scored 6 goals, dished out 29 assists and had 91 blocked shots.
The Oilers clearly believe in what Shea showed in this most recent season.
There's something to be said for a player who just grinds and gets better so that when he gets his first full opportunity, he seizes it.
That appears to be what Shea did, and now he has earned himself a really impressive payday.
The Oilers still have more work to do, but turning Nurse into Shea (sort of) is a quality maneuver on the blue line, and it's a sign of good things to come in Edmonton.
More NHL news:
- Jack Eichel turned into Ben Simmons
- Frederik Andersen heading toward an unceremonious exit
- Cale Makar is about to become a lot more expensive
- Sidney Crosby trade plans did a 180 for the Penguins
- It's time to ask a serious Matthew Knies question
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