Core Oilers player sees subtle demotion in new line combinations

Nurse has been struggling mightily through the early part of this season. While he's put up a few good efforts, far too often the Oilers are heavily out-chanced and out-scored with Nurse on the ice. Now, he may see a little less minutes.

At today's practice, Darnell Nurse was taking line rushes alongside Alec Regula, the team's 6th defenceman just returning from injury.

Fans noticed that while Nurse may be presented within the top 4, his pairing may see the least ice time. The pairing behind them of Brett Kulak and Jake Walman is arguably a stronger pair.

If Nurse truly does play most of his minutes alongside Regula, it will be a significant demotion for the $9.25M defender.

The Oilers desperately need Darnell Nurse to find another gear and elevate in his game this season. They simply can't have such a massive contract perform so far below its value - and management may know that too after asking him to waive his NTC.

Regula is expected to be making his return after a lengthy injury, so he may see reduced ice time until he's back at full speed. However, the Oilers are extremely high on Regula being an impact player as well.

With even Bouchard and Ekholm struggling to begin this year, the Oilers could instead look to deploy their three defence pairs fairly equally.

It may be their best path forward to settle their defence, shelter Darnell Nurse's weak play, and start climbing the standings once again.