Oilers leaked requests to waive no-trade clauses for one specific reason

Elliotte Friedman reported yesterday that both Nurse and Henrique declined to waive their no-move clauses. Allan Mitchell speculated Nugent-Hopkins also may have been asked, but the information wasn't public.

Plenty of fans are now speculating why or how exactly insiders caught wind of these potential trade discussions. It makes little sense for Nurse or Henrique's camps to leak the information after declining, so it's likely the team.

The Oilers leaking this information would put heavy pressure on both Darnell Nurse and Adam Henrique to perform next season. The team is clearly interested in moving them as they now have dubious fits on the roster - especially Darnell Nurse.

Being paid $9.25M, Nurse simply has not been good enough in the playoffs the last two seasons especially. His poor decisions with the puck are downright baffling, and so constant that it makes one wonder if he listens to the coaches.

Moreover, if Nurse and Henrique were asked to waive but Nuge was not - there may have even been a conversation where McDavid and Draisaitl agreed that Nurse leaving would improve the team. It's hard to believe management would take that step without at least heads up to the stars - and they've always respected McDavid's friends.

After the addition of Jake Walman to the team as well, there's a real argument to be made that Nurse is the team's 3rd best left shot defenceman. That's not sustainable at $9.25M.

The New York Rangers famously forced Jacob Trouba into waiving his no-move clause by publicly pressuring him, reducing his role, and practically forcing him out. If the Oilers are now leaking info to pressure Nurse, the Oilers could be taking a similar path.