Recent Edmonton Oilers signing included in NHL's worst deals

The legacy of current Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland can't be questioned, as during his time in the Motor City, he earned the right to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup a whopping four times, three as Detroit's GM. 

But prior to Steve Yzerman's return to Detroit in April of 2019, Holland had fallen out of favor with Detroit Red Wings fans for numerous regrettable trades and exorbitant free agent signings for aging and underperforming players that the team continued to deal with even after Yzerman's return. 

The Athletic recently compiled a list of the NHL's ten worst current contracts, and defenseman Darnell Nurse's eight year, $74 million contract is included on the list: 

"The length of the deal and his age still make Nurse’s contract a very unlikely bet, but his recent trajectory leaves some room for optimism. In the short term, the deal may not be as painful as once thought. It’s worth noting too that Nurse’s best comp is Brent Burns so the best may be yet to come here (though, on the other hand, Brent Seabrook wasn’t far off either)."

It's certainly not a surprise to see Holland make a significant move, but there's no doubt that the Oilers should be doing anything and everything possible to maximize the window they have while two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are still on their roster. Nurse is certainly a capable top pairing defenseman, but should he have been given that amount of cash? 

Only time will tell if this soon becomes a contract that, like so many long term and high-AAV deals, teams come to regret.