Oilers sign G Andersen, acquire Levi from Sabres, trade Nurse to Sharks

After starring during the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run, Frederik Andersen is headed to Edmonton.

Andersen agreed to a one-year deal with an AAV of $2.8 million with the Oilers, the team announced on Wednesday.

Andersen’s base salary is $1 million, reported Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, with performance bonuses amounting to $1.8 million.

The 36-year-old had an uneven regular season, posting a 16-14-5 record, .874 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average (GAA) over 35 games.

He locked in his performance for the playoffs, however, helping Carolina cruise through the Eastern Conference side of the bracket in series victories over Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal. Andersen also started the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas, but faltered and was replaced by Brandon Bussi for the final two games of the series.

For the post-season, Andersen went 13-2 with a .910 save percentage and 1.89 GAA.

The 2025-26 season marked the 13th of Andersen’s career. He had spent three seasons with Anaheim, five with Toronto and five with Carolina. In 552 career games, he has a .913 save percentage and 2.59 GAA.

Andersen is the second goalie Edmonton has acquired on Wednesday; the Oilers acquired Devon Levi and a 2028 seventh-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick.

Levi, 24, has spent the majority of the last two seasons in the AHL with the Rochester Americans. He last laced up for NHL action on Jan. 20, 2025.

He played a career-high 52 games with the Americans last season, finishing with a 23-20-9 record, 2.83 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. He also played three games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, posting a 1-2 record with a 2.71 GAA and .919 save percentage in a first-round series loss against the eventual champion Toronto Marlies.

Selected by the Florida Panthers 212nd overall in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Draft, he was traded to the Sabres in 2021 as part of the deal that sent Sam Reinhart to the Sunshine State.

Over 39 games with the Sabres across three seasons, he posted a 17-17-2 record with a 3.29 GAA and .894 save percentage.

Levi won the Mike Richter Award as NCAA goaltender of the year back-to-back in 2022 and ’23 with Northeastern.

The Oilers now have three NHL goaltenders on the roster with Andersen and Levi joining Tristan Jarry.

Oilers trade defenceman Darnell Nurse to Sharks

Darnell Nurse is on his way out of Oil Country.

The Edmonton Oilers traded the veteran defenceman to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp, the teams announced on Wednesday.

The Oilers did not retain any of Nurse’s $9.25 million cap hit for the next four seasons, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported.

Nurse had to waive a no-trade clause to complete the trade.

A 12-year NHL veteran, Nurse has spent all seasons with the Oilers since being selected seventh overall in 2013. Last season, he had seven goals and 17 points in 82 games.

For his career, the Hamilton, Ont., native has 88 goals and 324 points in 798 regular-season games, with seven goals and 29 points across 100 playoff games.

Mukhamadullin, 24, appeared in 83 games with the Sharks between 2023 and 2026, posting 12 points (five goals, seven assists). He was selected in the first round of the 2020 draft by the New Jersey Devils before being shipped to San Jose in the Timo Meier trade.

Sharp, 21, was a fifth-round pick of the Sharks last year. He had five goals and 14 assists in 37 games for Western Michigan University last year.