The off-season moves for the Edmonton Oilers have begun less than 48 hours after the conclusion of the 2014-15 season. This morning, the Oilers agreed to terms with F Nail Yakupov on a two-year contract extension.
Yakupov struggled through his entry level deal with the team, but the 2012 1st overall pick showed some real signs of life in the final half of the season. Yakupov set a career high for points this year, posting 33 in 81 games. Goal scoring wise, Yakupov scored 14, his second best season in the NHL.
Following a dynamic rookie year where Yak scored 17 goals and finished with 31 points in 48 games, he fell out of favor. His style did not mesh with former coach Dallas Eakins, and the 2013-14 season ended up being a complete disaster. Yakupov only posted 24 points, and was a complete disaster of a player. He was in danger of being a bust.
After the firing of Eakins this past December, Yakupov looked like a new player, becoming an effective offensive weapon under Todd Nelson. Arguably the biggest difference was the addition of veteran C Derek Roy, who gave Yakupov arguably the best pivot offensively he has played with at this level. The results? More like what we expected from Nail.
This contract is a perfect one for both team and player. Yakupov has yet to emerge as an elite offensive talent, but he is once again showing signs of being a legit player at this level. Yakupov could have signed a long term deal here, but there is a lot of risk involved on both sides.
For the team, they aren’t sure what exactly Yakupov will be, as he has yet to hit 40 points. This gives Edmonton two more seasons to try and figure Nail out before having to make a big time decision on him. For the player, this allows Yakupov to build his value and earn a big time pay day in the summer of 2017, which is highly likely.
They dollar value here is pretty good for Edmonton, as Yakupov will make $2.5 M per season for the duration of the deal. That’s exceptional value for a player that will be in the team’s top-six forward group and who will likely have a major role on the power-play.
I’d expect Yakupov to play on the right wing on the second line next season behind Jordan Eberle, while playing a hefty amount on the power-play. If Edmonton supports him with a second line center, whether it is Roy or someone else, than I think we can expect somewhere between 40-55 points next season. Sure, it’s not elite, but it signals real progress for Nail, and suggests he is moving forward.
I’m a huge Yakupov fan, he’s a dynamic offensive player and a pure goal scorer who simply loves playing the game. He’s the kind of guy you build around, not trade off. The Oilers getting him signed on a prove it deal while keeping the dollar value in the ‘value contract’ range is a solid move for Craig MacTavish.
Next up? I’d imagine Derek Roy is the next player we hear about.
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