Darnell Nurse has recently been on the ice with several of his Edmonton Oilers teammates for informal skates at Rogers Place.
But if he’s still without a contract when training camp starts for real in less than two weeks, what happens then?
Watch below: Some Global News videos about Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse.
Nurse, 23, has been a restricted free agent since the end of June. It seemed like a slam dunk that the Oilers would ink him to a two-year deal as a bridge to a longer, more lucrative contract down the road.
“Going through it the first time, you think something will be done right away, but it’s an educating process,” Nurse explained.
Nurse, who had 26 points in 82 games last season, became even more valuable to the Oilers when Andrej Sekera suffered a torn Achilles tendon earlier this summer. However, the Oilers don’t have the cap space to pay Nurse much more than $3 million per season. So the waiting continues.
READ MORE: Edmonton Oilers’ Andrej Sekera is out ‘indefinitely,’ team says
Watch below: The Edmonton Oilers’ Andrej Sekera will be out indefinitely with his latest injury, which some worry could end his career. As John Sexsmith reported on Aug. 15, 2018, Sekera’s injury has a lot of Edmontonians talking.
“No update,” Nurse said. “It’s good to be here and good to be skating with the guys. It’s an organization I want to be a part of.”
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers during the 2018 NHL offseason.