Darnell Nurse already knows the two dates that will define his fall with the San Jose Sharks.
Longtime Oilers reporter Jim Matheson flagged both matchups Thursday, and the scheduling could not be more pointed.
Nurse gets his first crack at Edmonton on October 10th, when the Oilers visit San Jose early in the season.
The moment that actually matters comes January 13th, when Nurse steps back into the building where he spent his whole career.
San Jose acquired Nurse this offseason, closing out a run in Edmonton that included 82 games, 7 goals and 17 assists this past season.
He finished at 24 points with a minus-12 rating, then went pointless over six playoff games as Anaheim eliminated the Oilers in six.
Edmonton finished the season 41-30-11 for 93 points and 14th overall, a mixed year that still ended in that first-round exit.
The January 13 trip back carries the real weight
Both clubs sit in the Pacific Division, so this is not the only time Nurse and his former team will cross paths this season.
Edmonton answered that exit by hiring Mike Babcock as head coach in June, a clear sign the room needed a different voice.
General manager Stan Bowman is the one who has to explain trading away a $9.25 million shutdown defenseman months after that series.
Nurse steps into a very different role in San Jose, joining a group already being rebuilt around Macklin Celebrini's rise.
The early date at home gives Nurse a chance to get that first meeting out of the way before the tougher trip in January.
Matheson has covered the Oilers for decades, and even he framed the October game as Nurse trying to rip off the bandage early.
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The January trip is the one that actually tests him. That's the crowd and the ice he called home for his entire career.
Whether Nurse gets a standing ovation or a chorus of boos that night is impossible to predict from a schedule release in July.
Should Oilers fans give Darnell Nurse a standing ovation in January?
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