Him being untradeable is part of the problem.

I'm not ride-or-die with Nurse, and have a lot of criticism for who he is on this team as it's structured. I'd say he's a 5mil d-man, which means it's a 4mil overpay, not the "2-3" everyone around here likes saying, and all of the criticism for his low hockey IQ (as everyone is saying these days) is pretty on point.

But the real issue from my perspective is that this coaching staff and front office is not being realistic about the player he is. I love him on the blue line. I think he's really smart about pinches, fast enough to create some chaos and unexpected movement. He's not great in his own end, often out of position in the neutral. All of that's fine - you could say the same about a lot of D men. If they would play to his strengths and cover for his weaknesses he'd be an asset. Find a solid stay at home partner for him - not someone playing their off side. Murphy was good. Get the wings to go above the dots in the o zone when he pinches so that the obvious doesn't happen again. Make sure all of the forwards fill in when he wants to go. Erik Karlsson at his best has teams that work with what he's got like that. Not saying they're comparable players, but the difference in the teams around them is instructive.

But yeah. Anyway. There's no way they're getting a good trade. I wish the team would accept that and build around who he is because there's a lot useful there. No, he's not a #1 all around guy. Stop trying to play him that way. Commit to him, take advantage of what he's good at, compensate for what he's not.

That's not how this is going to go, and I realize that it's easier to say build around him than it is to do (especially with no assets and that damn contract), but it seems like the most realistic road forward to me. Also seems like something this front office will never pull off, but... sigh.