What to do with Nail Yakupov ??

This is an article I’ve been thinking about writing for about two years now. I wouldn’t classify myself as a knee jerk reaction kind of guy. But I’ve been quietly observing a number of players the last while. Actually I do it constantly, but I’ve been paying extremely close attention to a few I must admit. I’ve always been a big Nail Yakupov fan. I think as a group we let a players perceived personality impact how we judge them as hockey players. In Nail Yakupov’s case, I think he’s probably the fan favourite in Edmonton. Always got a gigantic smile on his face, he’s often out in the community doing private signings at pro am sports or out at the Stollery visiting sick children. Unfortunately in Edmonton the fan base is as divided as I’ve ever seen it. A percentage of the fans absolutely adore Nail and the other percentage are ready for Nail to get a change of scenery.

Nail Yakupov certainly has some positives in his game. He has a very good shot, he skates reasonably well, he’s a pretty energetic fellow on the ice and around the room. Nail Yakupov’s biggest flaw is his hockey sense. He tries real hard and skates real fast but I don’t think he has a clue where he’s going 75% of the time. Some say that Brett Hull lacked hockey sense and he was alright. Which I think is a crazy argument. The game was different then, but also I don’t think you can score 741 goals in this league without some pretty decent hockey sense. I’ve also seen a lot of hate towards Todd McLellan for the way he uses Nail Yakupov. Some seem to think Nail’s the only one he’s ever upset with. Outside of Connor McDavid and Matt Hendricks every forward on that team has been sat down at some point in the last 6 weeks. Todd expects a lot out of all his players. Sometimes instead of recognizing some of his short comings we tend to point the finger at other players to try and negotiate Nail’s way into the top 6. Some people hate Hall, some people hate Eberle and some hate Kassian. But at the end of the day they are all better players then Nail. That’s not a knock on Nail. That’s just the truth.

As soon as Todd McLellan and Peter Chiarelli took over they have been preaching heavy forechecking hockey, to play a north/south game and be absolutely tenacious on the puck. As much as people want Nail in the top 6, his best games have came playing with players that play a simple and straight game. Last night he was playing with Mark Letestu and Lauri Korpikoski. They were Edmonton’s second best line last night in my opinion. But with new management one has to wonder where exactly does Nail Yakupov fit in? He’s not big, and doesn’t produce a ton of offence (yet). He isn’t overly physical or hard to play against and he doesn’t kill penalties. Bob Stauffer mentioned that the Oilers will be going after a big mean 3rd line center this summer. Some say possibly Backes. Which tells me the plan is to either trade RNH or Leon will play the wing. Most successful teams have multiple centers playing the wing any given night. The Oilers were about 25% in the dot the last time I checked in the third period last night. When a couple guys aren’t going, it’s nice to have a couple other bodies to try in the circle. The New York Islanders have 7 natural centermen on their roster. I would think the Oilers are looking to go the same route. Todd McLellan had that option last year in San Jose and his team seemed to thrive. If lines aren’t going you can completely mix everything up.

We know the Oilers have added some size and they aren’t done yet. So let’s look at the group up front going into next year.

Hall-McDavid-Kassian

Maroon-RNH-Drasaitl

Pouliot-Backes- Eberle

Hendricks-Letestu-Pakarinen

Now some are of the belief the Oilers may look at moving Eberle and Yakupov this summer for a couple cheaper and bigger players this offseason. Also opens up more cap room to help the defense out. I think Nail Yakupov can become a serviceable player down the road. However I don’t believe it will be with the Edmonton Oilers. It more has to do with the makeup that Chiarelli wants and less to do with the lack of skills that Nail Yakupov has. We had a similar situation here awhile ago with Andrew Cogliano. Higher end pick, but needed to be traded and realize on his own that he needed to change the way he played. He wasn’t a top 6 forward and that he needed to simplify his game and recreate himself a little bit. I don’t believe that would have happened with Cogliano if he hadn’t been traded. Cogliano has been on camera before admitting it and how much the trade opened his eyes and helped his career in the long run. I hope the Oilers trade Nail this summer so he can have have a chance at a similar growth pattern that Cogliano did, once he got a fresh start with a new organization. I’ll always cheer for Nail down the road. But with the way Chiarelli wants to build this team, Nail doesn’t seem to be a fit here.

Cheers!