Will Nail Yakupov Finish This Season as an Oiler?

One thing that keeps coming up around the Oilers is the status of winger Nail Yakupov. He has had a roller coaster of a career in his first seasons and has been the subject of trade rumours off and on. Last year when rumours started head coach Dallas Eakins said that he and Yakupov are "attached at the hip." However, comments like this still have not dissuaded the trade talk, there is still murmurings of a trade involving Yakupov almost all the time in Oil Country. A lot of this is due to his on ice play.

No Yakupov has not put up the best of numbers thus far in his career, I get that. However, let's remember two things, number one Yakupov is only twenty years old. The number of NHL players who are a point per game scorer or better at twenty are few and far between, so let's try and curb our expectations for him. I think for this upcoming season a nice number to see Yakupov hit would be fifty points, maybe sixty. Somewhere in there would be a huge step in the right direction for him and he could continue to grow from that point eventually becoming the point per game guy people are expecting him to be. The other thing to remember is this will be Yakupov's first season where he has the same head coach as he did at the end of the previous season. It's hard for a player to adjust and get comfortable in an environment when said environment is constantly changing. It should be a boost for both Yakupov and the rest of the team to have the same head coach. If Yakupov were to be traded just for poor performance that would be a mistake, esepecially because that would likely mean a low return on a player who could be a point per game player. That being said, I do see an instance where maybe Yakupov finds himself wearing another team's jersey.



That instance is maybe if another team sees the same potential in Yakupov as a lot of Oilers fans. The Oilers have two key holes to fill, they could still use a top two defender, and more importantly right now a second line centre. If and when the Oilers try to make a trade for a player who fills one of those holes they will likely be asked to give up one of Eberle, Hall, or Nugent-Hopkins. Obviously there is almost no way the Oilers give up one of those players, so the next logical step is to try and substitute Yakupov into that trade for whoever was previously asked for. There is a chance that the team likes Yakupov's potential enough to do it. If a team is willing to gamble on the potential of Yakupov and give up a legitimate NHL player at one of the key positions the Oilers need (especially second line centre) I think it would give Craig MacTavish a lot to think about. I don't doubt that there's teams out there that like Yakupov's potential. However, I'm not sure if they like his potential to the tune of a second line centre or a top two defender, his trade stock just isn't that high. I would like to see MacTavish explore the teams who see and like his potential and see what they'd be willing to give up. However, because of his low trade stock I don't expect a trade to be made.


So to answer the question, yes, I believe Yakupov will be an Edmonton Oiler by the end of the season. His dismal play at times isn't enough to get him traded out of Edmonton yet due to the fact he's only twenty years old. Also, until now has not entered a season with the same head coach. It's unlikely that a team is willing to give up key pieces that would plug the holes in the Oilers lineup in exchange for Yakupov; that is the only way the Oilers would do a trade right now. Yakupov is likely staying put for the time being.



If you think he will be traded feel free to tell me why. You can comment below this post or leave me a tweet @thewildman111. Until next time



-Darren

Photo taken from larry-fisher.com