Yakupov For Boychuk? No Sir!

I may be late to the party, but I have to chime in on this one. Late last week, an article hit the web from Joe Haggerty of Comcast Sportsnet New England regarding the future of Bruins defender Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk, an Edmonton native, is slatted to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The odds the Bruins will be able to re-sign him are slim at best, and it has sparked trade speculation.

The Bruins are currently in a major cap bind, and have eight defenders that could play in the NHL, making a trade of one of these players a likely thing. The guy mainly rumored has been Johnny Boychuk, who was again connected to Edmonton by Haggerty.

The intriguing part about Edmonton from Boston’s perspective: The have young forward talent, along with a desperate need for a shutdown defenseman such as Boychuk.

Something along the lines of a Nail Yakupov-for-Johnny Boychuk trade could solve problems for both teams from a long-term perspective, but there’s no question the Black and Gold’s chances of winning a Cup this season would take a hit if No. 55 is dealt before, or in, this upcoming season. Boychuk will literally take a puck to the face to help the Bruins win a game, and a hockey team with Stanley Cup aspirations can’t deal those kinds of players away lightly.

Now Haggerty isn’t saying he is hearing anything or even suggesting that the Oilers and Bruins are talking about a trade regarding Boychuk, but is more just throwing something out there from his mind. Hey, we all do it. There are pros and cons to a deal like this however, and for Edmonton this kind of trade would be the ultimate high risk gamble.

This Makes No Sense!!!:

Let me get this out of the way, Johnny Boychuk is a good NHL defender and is no doubt a top-four guy at this level. We’ll talk about that more in a minute, but I felt like we should get that out of the way early here. Even though he is a top-four guy, this deal makes literally no sense for Edmonton in my mind.

The first reason is clear, Boychuk’s contract expires after the season, and the odds of him re-signing in Edmonton have to be somewhat slim. Yes, he grew up in Edmonton and as an Oilers fan, but realistically the Oilers will not challenge for a Cup in the next few seasons, and one has to imagine Boychuk wants a shot at a Cup.

Considering Brooks Orpik’s deal this past July, it’s easy to bet that Boychuk is going to get PAID too this coming summer. He’ll likely be out of Edmonton’s price range, and odds are he would simply be a one year rental player for the team. That’s not worth the price of Yakupov for a team that likely will not be in the playoffs in April.

The price is far too much as well. Yes, Nail Yakupov struggled this past season, posting sub-par offensive numbers and struggling mightily defensively. He was a problem and took a step back, but his potential is still through the roof. He’s got a killer shot and the kid knows how to score. Sure, he likely won’t hit 30 this year, but Yakupov has the potential to be a 35-40 goal scorer in his prime. You don’t give those guys up for rentals.

The Bruins would get a young forward with a ton of offensive potential, who they have all the contractual leverage over, in exchange for a pending UFA that they likely wouldn’t re-sign anyway and who is likely on the down-swing of his career. I fail to see where the Oilers win here.

Well Can’t It Work Someway?:

For Yakupov, or any of the young forwards for that matter, likely not. That said, there is value in a guy like Boychuk. Johnny Boychuk is a proven top-four defender at the NHL-level. That has value, and Edmonton simply did not have enough of those last year. He’s a tough player that plays a physical style, leaves everything out on the ice, and is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

On top of that, Boychuk is an extremely solid shut-down defender who is responsible in his own end, prevents chances, and is trusted in crunch time by his coach. Those are all really good signs. Boychuk also has a bomb of a slap-shot and can easily QB a power-play for Edmonton from the point.

Boychuk, at least in the next two years, would be Edmonton’s second best defender, only behind newly signed Mark Fayne. In the immediate future it would greatly upgrade Edmonton’s defense, but remember Boychuk isn’t really a top-pairing guy, and likely is best suited for the second-pairing. The Oilers already have a few players like that.

The Overview:

Johnny Boychuk would have an immediate impact on the Oilers. He’d make the current edition better, and would help solidify the team’s blue-line. That said, he is due for a massive contract, and likely is about to enter the down-slide of his career slope. That’s not a good combination, and it could greatly hurt the Oilers. Factor in the potential that Edmonton would be giving up in Yakupov, and this is a scary trade for Oiler fans.

Edmonton’s best bet is to simply offer Boychuk what they deem to be a fair contract next July if they are interested, and let some other team give up some potential for a year-long rental player.