I must say, I never liked Yakupov's game in the NHL. From day 1, he didn't seem to have "NHL-level IQ", in addition to having some of the worst hands (for a non-defensive player) I've ever seen. I mean, you could gift this guy free shots from 8 feet in front of the net and he wasn't gonna put them in. What I'm saying is, I don't think there was ever, in any situation/team, any chance that Yakupov was going to be more than a very average pro-player.
Having said that, he scored 8 points in his first 10 NHL games, and he finished that shortened season with 15 points in the final 14 games. It seemed that, under coach Ralph Krueger (who was known for being good with young and European players), he was somewhat comfortable and was making a nice if slightly-below-expectations transition into the NHL. That all ended when MacTavish fired Krueger by Skype (for no reason whatsoever) and hired Eakins.
I'll give the Oilers/Eakins 20% of the blame for Yakupov, but at the end of the day this isn't the participation-ribbon hockey League where the kids who can't play very well get a pat on the back and a popsicle. This is the big-Leagues, baby, and Yakupov just hasn't been good enough at the NHL level.
Seems like a nice guy, though. Maybe he'd be better off just playing in the KHL or somewhere else...?