Daigle and Yakupov

[pheasant]

It's not even so much that they didn't send him back, it's that they said he'd be with the Oilers at the draft... Foolishness. Before he'd even signed a contract they publically announce he'll be an Oiler the following season. Now it feels like they kept him up just so they didn't look stupid... Again. And of course, in Oiler fashion, it looks like it could blow up in their face.

That whole organization is being run so poorly right now. And, as a fan of the Leafs through recent struggles, and the $Bill Wirtz era Blackhawks, I know this topic really well.

It makes no sense that Edmonton totally handed the keys over to guys like Hall and Eberle so soon. They jettisoned any leader/mentor these kids might have had, like Hemsky or Horcoff, and just threw the kids into the deep end of the pool full of wolves. Why not try to add a vet presence, or some 3rd/4th liners with great work ethic? Couldn't they outbid the 750K 2-way deal for Ryan Carter? A guy that never quits and knows his role? Or maybe grab Jack Skille off waivers, someone who knows about draft hype?

Now the problem is only getting worse by giving Yakupov and Draisaitl roster spots based on name alone. Put these 2 in positions where they might succeed, like the AHL for Draisaitl. And bring in a guy that remembers when a phone was attached to a wall!

 

[billybudd]

34 games play this season, 12 where he's been given more than 15:00 minutes the entire game.
63 games played last season, 29 where he was given more than 15:00 minutes the entire game.
48 games played in 2012-2013, 23 where he was given more than 15:00 minutes the entire game.

His rookie season was his best, under Ralph Kreuger and given more responsibilities. Yes, let's blame the guy who doesn't get nearly the opportunity he should in order to prove himself as a 1st overall pick

EDIT: Also, Daigle didn't really fail at all? The guy who said he was happy he was picked #1 because nobody ever remembers who was picked #2 didn't fail? I beg to differ.

If you think Daigle failed as a hockey player, you're simply wrong. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but an opinion that's uninformed can be wrong. That he once put his foot in his mouth doesn't change what a guy did on the ice in his career.

The vast majority of players who pass through the NHL never play 600 games. The majority of those that do don't have 300 points in them.

To put Daigle's career in perspective, his games played and offensive numbers are about the same as Antoine Vermette's. AV has much better character and is a better defensive player, but nobody would point to his offensive output and call him a "failure," like you have with Daigle.

Daigle wasn't what was promised. But he had a better career than most people. Even most first rounders

As far as Yakupov, this is pure sunk cost phenomenon. "I bought an expensive car that isn't running right, so it must be the mechanic, not the car."

His ice time is low because his play can lose you games and he doesn't produce near enough to overlook that, even when gifted ice time with the likes of Nugent-Hopkins and Perron, which he was for the plurality of last season.

 

[luiginb]

Yakupov is at the moment the worst (regular) player on NHL's worst team. He should be playing somewhere else for his own good, and DEVELOP. Problem is, Oilers don't really develop anyone.

 

[Bankerguy]

Situation wise..yes they are similar.

Daigle was a one trick pony. He was a very very good skater. He had a great first step and he had great top speed. Explosive.

I firmly believe that his skating is the reason he racked up almost a 3.0 ppg in that one junior season. His skills, shot, hands...everything else was good..but not elite. So people expected him to be elite but really all he had was his skating..put up a 20 goal season or two and then was done.... the situation things you mentioned really did not help....

He busted because he only had one elite trait and he had a crap attitude and the Sens were pretty messed up at the time

Yakupov has a better more rounded skill set in my opinion. More grit, better hands and a better release... I think he'll be better than Daigle

 

[tfong]

Daigle actually didn't want to play hockey he later stated. Yak wants to play, big differences here. Also Daigle played on talent alone, if you watch Yak, there is a tremendous amount of effort there.

 

[dahrougem2]

If you think Daigle failed as a hockey player, you're simply wrong. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but an opinion that's uninformed can be wrong. That he once put his foot in his mouth doesn't change what a guy did on the ice in his career.

The vast majority of players who pass through the NHL never play 600 games. The majority of those that do don't have 300 points in them.

To put Daigle's career in perspective, his games played and offensive numbers are about the same as Antoine Vermette's. AV has much better character and is a better defensive player, but nobody would point to his offensive output and call him a "failure," like you have with Daigle.

Daigle wasn't what was promised. But he had a better career than most people. Even most first rounders

As far as Yakupov, this is pure sunk cost phenomenon. "I bought an expensive car that isn't running right, so it must be the mechanic, not the car."

His ice time is low because his play can lose you games and he doesn't produce near enough to overlook that, even when gifted ice time with the likes of Nugent-Hopkins and Perron, which he was for the plurality of last season.

Or maybe it's you that is wrong? Maybe a player who was picked 1st overall and only put up 327 points in 616 career games CAN be labelled as a bust. Had he been picked later in the 1st round in the 20-30 range, or after the 1st round, it'd be looked at as a solid yet unspectacular career, yes. But that's not the case. He was a 1st overall pick, he struggled to put up points, he was a failure.

And as far as Yakupov goes, you don't buy a Ferrari and treat it like it's a Mazda. His play isn't any worse than Jordan Eberle's or Taylor Hall's in the defensive zone. You can say he's had great linemates all you want, but if you aren't given minutes, you aren't going to produce. A player who gets only 10-12 minutes per game obviously isn't going to produce like someone who gets 20 minutes per game, that is a fact. He hasn't been "gifted" ice time, he's been mostly banished to the bench

 

[THall4]

I know it's OT, but Drai had no business staying in the NHL given the climate in EDM. Maybe give him 9 games to check him out, but let him get top minutes instead of keeping him in a ****** environment and putting him in a position to lose confidence.

The same could've been said about Yak when he was drafted.

lol then they healthy scratched him after they told germany they wouldnt loan him

The fact that they didn't even loan Drai (unless I missed t) to the WJC's is insane.

Agree with all of these.

But according to Jim Matheson, who 8 out of 10 times is right about anything Oilers in the rumour mill, tweeted that it looks like Draisaitl's rights mist be traded to Kootney in the WHL.

I think a big part of the Oilers keeping Drat in the NHL for so long was to keep him out of PA because that was also a toxic enviroment that they couldnt control and Leon stated he'd rather play in Europe then return to PA.

with Kootney potentially acquiring his rights sending him back is more liekly.

As for Yak - the moment Krueger was let go, the Oilers have mis-handled Yak. Its unfortunate really because he has flare and is exciting..potential fan favorite.

I really want him to get traded out of here..obviously only if we get the right return...and want him to succeed..his struggles dont come from a lack of trying. In Fact, of any plyer on the team..hes probably the hardest working in practices and training..not to mention he uprooted his family from Russia and lives in EDM full time.

Krueger just let the kid go...didnt overload him with BS ...just told him to go play kid but pulled the reigns when needed..and he had success..

I said it from the day the Oilers got the consolidation price of the first overall pick that year that they should have traded it to the highest bidder to help the team now (at the time). Adding a small skilled forward (Yak) or taking Murray (far from a dman you build a team around) wasnt going to help this team. Galchenyuk was too high a gamble due to his season ending injury..which obviously worked out for Montreal..

 

[SensNation613]

I actually feel really bad for Oiler fans, no fans deserve this sort of treatment. They've got really good players to build around, their firepower on offense is incredible (Well, their potential anyway) but they build their team on the wings. They lost a guy like Gagner which was honestly the worst possible decision, if they had kept him, then maybe Drai could have stayed in juniors. I understand that Gagner was underwhelming during his time in Edmonton but they were already incredible weak at center so even if management wasnt a fan of him, they should have kept him anyway. At the end of the day, Gagner was still always on pace to get 40-55 points every year for 7 years. Yakupov has tremendous potential and showed it under a guy like Krueger but clearly Eakins didn't give him any responsibilities which obviously sucked for him. They signed Schultz and threw him into the tirefire, did you know hes led Edmonton in icetime for 2 straight years and was 2nd on the team in his rookie year? It clearly shows they don't know what a middle ground is. Krueger actually started changing this team's look and they randomly fired him thinking he could do it all in one season. I'd move Eberle, the guy has a solid track record and they could get a good defenseman for him. In a year or two, maybe Buffalo might bite on a deal involving Myers. They've had so many chances at getting their **** together yet they always seem to mess it all up.

Giving fat contracts to Ference, Nikitin & Pouliot, picking up a guy like Purcell even though he's clearly not a good player, I also think they retained cap on Gagner but I'm too certain. Edmonton fans, if you want a serious change, stop going to games. I seriously don't know how your management could be wrong at every turn, the only moves that actually made sense recently was signing Fayne & acquiring Perron who might be even be otb because he called this team out. They just don't care, Scrivens got run over and absolutely no one even looked at Getzlaf so clearly that shows there's a problem with how that room is.

#HireMe

1. Eberle for Myers
2. Petry for Helm
3. Fire scouts (They never get good prospects outside of 1st round)
4. Purcell for Upshall
5. Klefbom for Nieto?
6. 3rd + Decent Prospect for Z.Smith

Hall - RNH - Yakupov
Perron - Helm - Upshall
Pouliot - Smith - Nieto?
Gazdic - Gordon - Arcobello

Ference - Myers
Marincin - Fayne
Aulie - Schultz

Scrivens
Fasth

Longterm:
Hall - RNH - Nieto
Perron - Draisaitl - Yakupov
Pouliot - Helm - Smith
Upshall - Gordon - Yakimov?

Hanifin - Myers
Nurse - Fayne
Marincin - Schultz

I don't know why but that doesnt look so bad in my head, not exactly playoff like but with smart signings they could have a good team in the future.

#NameMeGm

 

[Reznor]

If you think Daigle failed as a hockey player, you're simply wrong. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but an opinion that's uninformed can be wrong. That he once put his foot in his mouth doesn't change what a guy did on the ice in his career.

The vast majority of players who pass through the NHL never play 600 games. The majority of those that do don't have 300 points in them.

To put Daigle's career in perspective, his games played and offensive numbers are about the same as Antoine Vermette's. AV has much better character and is a better defensive player, but nobody would point to his offensive output and call him a "failure," like you have with Daigle.

Daigle wasn't what was promised. But he had a better career than most people. Even most first rounders

Daigle really had talent (enough to be a 1st overall), he just hated to play hockey. He more or less sticked to hockey long enough to rack up money so he wouldn't need to work seriously later...
If the guy had been motivated and trained hard, he would have been a very decent 1st pick.

 

[SensNation613]

Daigle really had talent (enough to be a 1st overall), he just hated to play hockey. He more or less sticked to hockey long enough to rack up money so he wouldn't need to work seriously later...
If the guy had been motivated and trained hard, he would have been a very decent 1st pick.

Agreed, guy had no passion and really only did it for the fame, hell he even tried to become an actor. If he had half of Yakupov's passion, he would have been a top 10 player in the NHL, he was supposed to be an elite player. Quote from Wikipedia: As the draft approached, the Quebec Nordiques, who were hosting the event, were reportedly so eager to draft the next French-Canadian superstar that they were rumored to have offered star players such as Owen Nolan, Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, and draft picks,[citation needed] but Ottawa management disregarded all offers. Daigle was selected first overall by the Senators, ahead of future superstars Chris Pronger and Paul Kariya, who were picked second and fourth, respectively. He subsequently received the largest starting salary in league history (five-years, $12.25 million), leading to the introduction of a rookie salary cap a few years later. Regarding his draft position, Daigle uttered the now infamous comment, "I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two".

 

[ottawa]

I don't know much about him but wasn't Yakupov labeled an egotistical jackass comin into the league???

Idk about egotistical, but I remember Grigorenko having 'attitude problems', not sure how true that rumour was. Maybe Sabres fans would know.

 

[ZeroPT*]

I actually feel really bad for Oiler fans, no fans deserve this sort of treatment. They've got really good players to build around, their firepower on offense is incredible (Well, their potential anyway) but they build their team on the wings. They lost a guy like Gagner which was honestly the worst possible decision, if they had kept him, then maybe Drai could have stayed in juniors. I understand that Gagner was underwhelming during his time in Edmonton but they were already incredible weak at center so even if management wasnt a fan of him, they should have kept him anyway. At the end of the day, Gagner was still always on pace to get 40-55 points every year for 7 years. Yakupov has tremendous potential and showed it under a guy like Krueger but clearly Eakins didn't give him any responsibilities which obviously sucked for him. They signed Schultz and threw him into the tirefire, did you know hes led Edmonton in icetime for 2 straight years and was 2nd on the team in his rookie year? It clearly shows they don't know what a middle ground is. Krueger actually started changing this team's look and they randomly fired him thinking he could do it all in one season. I'd move Eberle, the guy has a solid track record and they could get a good defenseman for him. In a year or two, maybe Buffalo might bite on a deal involving Myers. They've had so many chances at getting their **** together yet they always seem to mess it all up.

Giving fat contracts to Ference, Nikitin & Pouliot, picking up a guy like Purcell even though he's clearly not a good player, I also think they retained cap on Gagner but I'm too certain. Edmonton fans, if you want a serious change, stop going to games. I seriously don't know how your management could be wrong at every turn, the only moves that actually made sense recently was signing Fayne & acquiring Perron who might be even be otb because he called this team out. They just don't care, Scrivens got run over and absolutely no one even looked at Getzlaf so clearly that shows there's a problem with how that room is.

#HireMe

1. Eberle for Myers
2. Petry for Helm
3. Fire scouts (They never get good prospects outside of 1st round)
4. Purcell for Upshall
5. Klefbom for Nieto?
6. 3rd + Decent Prospect for Z.Smith

Hall - RNH - Yakupov
Perron - Helm - Upshall
Pouliot - Smith - Nieto?
Gazdic - Gordon - Arcobello

Ference - Myers
Marincin - Fayne
Aulie - Schultz

Scrivens
Fasth

Longterm:
Hall - RNH - Nieto
Perron - Draisaitl - Yakupov
Pouliot - Helm - Smith
Upshall - Gordon - Yakimov?

Hanifin - Myers
Nurse - Fayne
Marincin - Schultz

I don't know why but that doesnt look so bad in my head, not exactly playoff like but with smart signings they could have a good team in the future.

#NameMeGm

 

[Blind Gardien]

I wonder if they really could have handled Yakupov much differently? He actually was too good for the OHL. And he was pretty good in his rookie year. What else could they have done? Left him in the KHL?

 

[Swervin81]

Let's revisit this when Yakupov loses his passion, quits, then comes back with an expansion team (Daigle - Minnesota) and matches his career high.

 

[molsonmuscle360]

Daigle didn't want to be a pro hockey player. His parents wanted that for him. The kid had zero passion for the game, Yakupov is the complete opposite, he doesn't have half the talent that Daigle did (not many people do) but he has 10 times the passion.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Daigle was not supposed to be your normal 1st overall pick. Therefore he was supposed be one of those guys where the situation didn't matter. Like a Crosby, or a Ovi.

 

[Slot]

If you think Daigle failed as a hockey player, you're simply wrong. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but an opinion that's uninformed can be wrong. That he once put his foot in his mouth doesn't change what a guy did on the ice in his career.

The vast majority of players who pass through the NHL never play 600 games. The majority of those that do don't have 300 points in them.

To put Daigle's career in perspective, his games played and offensive numbers are about the same as Antoine Vermette's. AV has much better character and is a better defensive player, but nobody would point to his offensive output and call him a "failure," like you have with Daigle.

Daigle wasn't what was promised. But he had a better career than most people. Even most first rounders

As far as Yakupov, this is pure sunk cost phenomenon. "I bought an expensive car that isn't running right, so it must be the mechanic, not the car."

His ice time is low because his play can lose you games and he doesn't produce near enough to overlook that, even when gifted ice time with the likes of Nugent-Hopkins and Perron, which he was for the plurality of last season.

First overall pick. With the famous quote "no one will remember who was picked no. two"

Oh yeah he was a bust for a first over all. Especially considering who was second.

 

[SensNation613]

I agree it doesnt make sense for Buffalo now but I did say it might be worth it in 1-3 years if guys like Risto, Zadorov, McCabe and etc can all take the next step and you'll have guys like Reinhart, McEichel and Girgensons needing wingers to help their production. Myers right now is helping your young defense ease into the NHL but once they're ready, I wouldn't be shocked to see him get traded for winger help since that's something that you guys lack.

 

[SensNation613]

I wonder if they really could have handled Yakupov much differently? He actually was too good for the OHL. And he was pretty good in his rookie year. What else could they have done? Left him in the KHL?

Not fired the coach who actually improved the team and got career years out of almost all his core players?

 

[Swervin81]

Daigle didn't want to be a pro hockey player. His parents wanted that for him. The kid had zero passion for the game, Yakupov is the complete opposite, he doesn't have half the talent that Daigle did (not many people do) but he has 10 times the passion.

So he was basically the Todd Marinovich of hockey? Didn't know that...

 

[Oates2Neely]

Daigle averaged 20 goals per 82 games with the Senators. His lack of desire & clutch & grab era prevented him from being the star he had the talent to be. Thus far, Yakupov has not reached the level Daigle did.

Yakupov is more Stefan/ Falloon than he is Daigle. Maybe the Oilers can hope he picks up his game later in his career ala Radek Bonk.

*Actually Falloon was decent. I rescind my Falloon comparison

 

[sepHF]

I don't know much about him but wasn't Yakupov labeled an egotistical jackass comin into the league???

he ruffled some feathers with his WJC interview which just so happens to be one of my favourite hockey interviews ever

 

[Teufelsdreck]

Yakupov scintillated in the OHL on a line with Galchenyuk. How about reuniting them in Montréal? Yakupov might respond in the manner expected of him when he was drafted first overall. It would take the Oilers off the hook and turn a few other teams who wear blue, orange, black, or yellow jerseys green with envy.

 

[Ogopogo*]

Yak is not playing anywhere near what is expected of a #1 pick. I laugh when I hear local media talking about how his defensive game has improved. Great. That's exactly what we wanted from a first overall pick, a third line checker.

Yak is in danger of his career going down the toilet and I haven't seen anything from him at this point to make me think otherwise.

 

[Brooklanders*]

All I can say I love this thread.