The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Darnell Nurse to an eight-year contract extension, according to a team announcement. Nurse's new contract will be for a total of $74 million and he will earn an average annual value of $9.25 million.
The deal will make Nurse the fifth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL behind Seth Jones, Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, and Zach Werenski.
The Oilers defenseman is coming off an impressive season in which he scored a career-high 16 goals to go along with 20 assists in 56 games. In addition, Nurse scored ranked first among defensemen in even strength goals (15) and played an average of 25:38 minutes on a nightly basis.
Nurse was originally the seventh overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and has spent his entire career with the Oilers. During that time, Nurse has registered 157 points (45 goals and 112 assists) in 406 regular season games. Among defensemen, the 26-year old ranks fifth in goals, 11th in games played, and 12th in assists.
The veteran blue-liner is entering the final season of a two-year deal that he signed with the Oilers in 2020 and will earn $5.6 million.
