Edmonton Oilers Top Defenseman Out

The Edmonton Oilers will be without star defenseman Darnell Nurse for the next few weeks.

This is a tough blow for Edmonton, as Nurse has been the team's best defenseman all season. In 16 games, the 26-year-old has 11 assists and a +4 rating. This is certainly great to see, as the Oilers just signed him to an eight-year, $74 million contract extension over the summer. 

At a minimum, he is expected to miss the rest of Edmonton's games in November, but also could be out a few games in December, too. That will be determined as he continues to recover, of course. 

This also makes the Philip Broberg call-up even easier to understand. The 20-year-old has been playing spectacularly with the Bakersfield Condors, so it makes sense that he was Edmonton's first pick to replace Nurse in the top-six. 

Losing Nurse is a huge hit, but thankfully, the Oilers are in no real position to panic at the moment. They currently have a 12-4-0 record and are first in the Pacific Division. 

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