He arrived in June of 2012 to much fanfare. When the Edmonton Oilers selected Nail Yakupov, the thought process was that he would be the final young piece added to a stacked hockey team in Edmonton. With an elite finisher on board, the Oilers appeared primed to take off in the fall of 2012 and begin their turn north.
The start of the season was delayed until January due to a lockout, but when Nail Yakupov arrived, he arrived with a bang. The rookie forward posted 17-14-31 in 48 games. He led his team in goals and was one of the top rookie performers in the NHL. After that, however, things went south.
Why it all went wrong, we will never truly know. We do know that Yakupov’s season and a half under Dallas Eakins was a complete disaster. Eakins appeared to want Yakupov to become a more rounded player and that had a negative impact. There were also some communication issues between the two which are well documented.
Nail enjoyed a slight resurgence under Todd Nelson in the second-half of the 2014-15 season, but he’s once again struggled to produce much of anything under Todd McLellan this season. Yakupov’s offensive numbers are once again poor and he has been an inconsistent player for Edmonton for the third straight season.
To many, the writing was on the wall, the Edmonton Oilers were likely to move Nail Yakupov in the summer of 2016. On Sunday, we found out that a trade is all but certain.
Nail Yakupov, the fun-loving young Russian sniper that was supposed to be Edmonton’s final young piece, has requested a trade.
Nail Yakupov: ‘I asked a trade and #Oilers gave a permission to speak to other teams, about 8 of them were interested, but smth went wrong’
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) March 27, 2016
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Worth mentioning, this trade request form Yakupov came PRIOR to the NHL’s trade deadline, which explains the sudden influx of Yakupov rumors at that time. Obviously, the Oilers didn’t see a deal that they felt fit and held onto the player.
With this request out there and with Edmonton allowing him to talk with other teams, it’s become clear that the Oilers are prepared to move on without him and have begun to look at the future sans Nail Yakupov.
Jim Matheson tells us that for Edmonton, this trade request has essentially no impact on the summer, they had their minds made up already.
Not sure if it matters whether Yakupov asked for trade or not. Oilers trying to deal him for long while even if he didn’t ask
— Jim Matheson (@NHLbyMatty) March 28, 2016
Nail Yakupov is not a Peter Chiarelli or a Todd McLellan player. Watching the teams that Chiarelli assembled in Boston, it was apparent from the on-set that Yakupov was not long for this organization. He’s not a big player, not defensively aware and has not been an impact offensive player since entering the NHL.
For the last three seasons, Nail Yakupov has essentially been in a slump. He hasn’t pushed the meter at all and he’s been feeling his way through things, trying his best to get a grip on a spot that he is comfortable in. A tough spot, really, and not all his fault.
That said, he doesn’t fit the Chiarelli description and he doesn’t appear to really fit in with Todd McLellan’s system. Outside of an early stretch with Connor McDavid and a few games after returning from injury, Yakupov has been invisible this season. It’s clear that he doesn’t fit with this team’s style right now.
Does that mean he is a bad player? No, not at all. I still believe that Yakupov will have a good NHL career somewhere and that he will produce on another team. When put in the right role and handled correctly, he will produce better. If you want a recent example, I’d direct you to go watch Justin Schultz with the Penguins.
Sometimes, both sides need a fresh start. In the case of Nail Yakupov and the Edmonton Oilers, that is exactly the situation, both sides badly need a fresh start.
Summer Of Peter:
As Matheson pointed out in the above quote, this really doesn’t change things for Edmonton. I think Chiarelli planned on moving Yakupov to begin with and this just solidified that decision. Edmonton is going to be looking for smarter and harder to play against guys. Yakupov is not either of those right now.
Peter Chiarelli is going to turn this roster upside down and address some real issues this summer, I truly believe that. I believe that Nail Yakupov was already an asset in play to complete his plan. Again, this just makes that a certainty.
To me, this is more of a “You can’t fire me because I quit!” situation. It’s too bad, really.
Smarter Players:
Todd McLellan mentioned his team playing smarter hockey, and moving on from Yakupov should help do that. Am I saying Yakupov is dumb? No, absolutely not. What I’m saying is right now, he doesn’t have the hockey IQ the Oilers are looking for. He looks like a guy that has played under four coaches in four years and who isn’t sure what will get him a pat on the back and what will get him yelled at. He’s confused and part of the blame falls on the Oilers.
That said, Yakupov has not played smart hockey away from the puck in Edmonton and it is impacting the Oilers in a negative way. While Yakupov may prove to be much better in a new city, the Oilers will be better off with a player who is better away from the puck.
A Word On Nail:
I’m a huge fan of Nail Yakupov’s, that is not debatable. I’ve always found him to be an exciting player with the puck and I’ve always thought his failures in Edmonton had a lot to do with the way he was handled. He gets blame for what has happened, but I can’t help but think that he was not properly handled by the Oilers organization.
He’s also a great guy who cares about the city of Edmonton and the fans. He’s a genuinely good dude who does the right thing and isn’t like some of the superstars you hear about. Nail Yakupov is a great human being. You can’t give a person a higher compliment.
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