Houston, we have a problem.

The “situation” the Oilers are facing is taking on an Apollo 13 like feel for this fan.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAmsi05P9Uw]

On April 13th, 1970, on a mission bound for the moon, the unthinkable happened. It was the 13th mission of the Apollo program, the 7th manned and was to be the 3rd landing of humans on the moon. 2 days into the space flight, on a routine stirring of the oxygen and hydrogen tanks, there was an explosion. A small electrical short in the two wires that ran to the oxygen stirring fan on tank 2 started a fire within the insulation surrounding the tank. 93 seconds after the switch was flicked the explosion happened putting the mission on ice and the crew in serious peril.

What the hell is this guy talking about you ask? Let me explain. The Oilers 3 first overall picks are kind of like missions to the moon for this organisation. Up until 2010 they have never picked a player in the #1 slot. And as we all now know they managed to do it two more times after 2010.

Taylor Hall, Apollo 11, the Neil Armstrong mission and first manned mission to the moon. Never before had people seen such a spectacle. A world stopped and stared at televisions, hung on every step and word that Neil and his crew took and watched man walk on the moon live from their homes. Taylor Hall sort of mirrors that for this fan base and organization. When he arrived he seemed to make the Oilers relevant again. A first overall pick, swagger, skill, bravado and results. People really believe in him.

Ryan Nugent Hopkins, Apollo 12, the lesser of the two successful missions in terms of flash but just as important nonetheless. As with anything the second time around, the shine was off, but the crew of 12 executed their mission without error, first landing with pinpoint accuracy on their selected target, spending 7 hours and 45 minutes on the surface (compared to 2:31 for AP11) and collecting nearly double the moon rock samples of AP12. Like Apollo 12, RNH may not have had the high expectations and flash of his predecessor, but his results spoke to the quality season he had. In many eyes he was better than Hall.

And then there was Nail. For this post he is Apollo 13, the ill-fated mission that nearly ended in utter disaster.

News broke over the weekend that Nail Yakupov and his agent Igor Larionov are not happy with the situation Nail is facing in Edmonton. In conjunction to the abysmal start this team has had, the judgement of Nail and Igor appears to be adding fuel to a fire where no more fuel is needed. As MacTavish eluded to last week “development is not a straight line” and Nail’s early season struggles should be viewed as normal and as part of the program in figuring out how to be a successful and balanced hockey player. It should be all part of the mission for a flashy first overall pick. Stir the tanks, check the gauges, do your duties. It will all turn out OK. Problem is, as we are learning through this re-re-rebuild, things don’t always go as planned. Seemingly effective communication has broken down and two elements that shouldn’t be needlessly rubbing together are. Like the electrical short on Apollo 13, I think it has started a fire and an explosion may be looming.

I get why Yakupov is frustrated. I would be too. His whole life as a hockey player has seen him produce points, put pucks in the net and have his skill alone take him where others will never be able to go. The problem is, as many supremely talented athletes find out, skill alone is not enough and a lot of hard work and sacrifice of old habits are needed to become a dominant pro. You’d think with a ex-player agent who knows a thing or two about winning and the sacrifices needed to do so would be more of a guiding light for the young man from Nizhnekamsk. It appears that this is not at all the case.

What is driving this we are only able to speculate, but a big thought comes to my mind. Nail has 1 year remaining on his ELC after this season and if things don’t turn around for him statistically he runs the risk of not landing the big payday ,one summer before RFA status, like his peers before him. The #1 job of an agent is to look out for his player and it is stating to look like the #1 priority for Igor and Yak is $$$. I may be wrong and this ignition source may be squashed once Larionov lands in Edmonton to speak with MacT and the other heads at mission control but as the old saying goes… where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

The crew of Apollo 13 managed to get home safely, but it was the beginning of the end of the astronomically expensive Apollo program. Sadly, I fear that Nail’s mission will not be salvaged and splash down, but rather burn up helplessly in the atmosphere as an Oiler. It may not happen now or in the coming weeks, but with how things have developed with this team over the first month and a half things are going to have to change. Being a young player in a cluster of other young players is usually a good thing. But when you start to belly ache about and isolate yourself from the philosophy of the coach and have an agent who seems more interested in meddling and spewing to media sources rather than what makes his client the best NHL player he can be, well, there is a problem.

I like Yakupov. I like Yakupov as an Oiler. He has immense skill and will someday be a force to be reckoned with. For now he is just a brash young man seemingly hell bent on pushing back against “better” sense, trying to do things his way. For the sake of him and the team, I hope MacT, Eakins, Yak and Igor get it all sorted out before the entire rebuild and realationship, like the Apollo program, are canceled.

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