Nail Yakupov - Part IV

[GMofOilers]

Yak was by far and away the best pick for the Oilers at the time. Even if we had players like him, if he developed like he should of (blame the Oilers if you want but Yak has to own some blame) we would of had a very nice trade asset with either a different winger or Yak himself.

 

[GMofOilers]

Let's also not forget here that it's been rumored since draft day that Katz made that pick himself and not Tambellini or the scouting staff. If true, and I certainly believe it is, then there's no point in blaming anybody for missed opportunities anymore. If Katz wouldn't let Tambellini pick Murray, who was being touted as the best defenseman in the draft, he sure wasn't going to allow him to take anybody else.

All this stuff doesnt matter. You take the BPA which was Yak.

Any of these players dont help the team for the first 2 years anyways, at this point he should of been a huge trade asset and could of made the team better that way.

It didnt happen. Some of that blame has to be on the player itself.

 

[SK13]

But its putting Yak in a postion to fail, as most have argued for the last 2 years, cause thats what Eakins did? I think thats where im confused.

Is putting him in a 2Line hole with Hall and McDavid putting the Oilers in a position to fail, though?

The extent to which Dallas Eakins misused Nail Yakupov wasn't limited to which line he played on. How that line was used, how often he shortened the bench to exclude Yakupov, etc were the bigger sins.

I've argued all summer they should suffer a bad fit with Hall, McDavid and Yakupov and hope to get a 20+ goal season out of him, so they can establish value @ his 2.5M dollar figure and offload him to address a team need.

 

[Raoul Duke]

But its putting Yak in a postion to fail, as most have argued for the last 2 years, cause thats what Eakins did? I think thats where im confused.

It can't just be all about Yakupov. The team should be put together to best produce as a team not what's best for any individual.

 

[Sweetpotato]

So if Yak starts on the 3rd line this year, does that make TM a idiot coach?

If yak doesn't succeed under MacLellan I think all oil fans will agree he's a bust, you think tmac will play him on the 3rd line? If he does he better be flanked by Drais/Lander or its a waste.

I think you'll see him start on the 2nd line with mcdavid and either Pouliot/Hall and they'll give him every chance to succeed or fail.

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

If yak doesn't succeed under MacLellan I think all oil fans will agree he's a bust, you think tmac will play him on the 3rd line? If he does he better be flanked by Drais/Lander or its a waste.

I think you'll see him start on the 2nd line with mcdavid and either Pouliot/Hall and they'll give him every chance to succeed or fail.

I think McLellan will start Yak in a spot that he earns in camp. All the players have a clean slate and csmo decides where they go. So if Yak isn't ready for it at camp its no ones fault but his.

 

[rboomercat90]

All this stuff doesnt matter. You take the BPA which was Yak.

Any of these players dont help the team for the first 2 years anyways, at this point he should of been a huge trade asset and could of made the team better that way.

It didnt happen. Some of that blame has to be on the player itself.

I agree that you always take BPA regardless of position. You then use whatever extra pieces you have as trade chips to complete the roster. That hasn't been done here. Instead, what we've seen here is young players floundering while their trade value plummets. That's on the organization.

 

[Soundwave]

I think we would have taken Galchenyuk had he not been injured pretty much for the entire season.

Oh well. It's not like Galy is a superstar either. Trouba probably in hindsight in the best fit for us from that draft and no one was taking him 1st overall.

All these things led to us getting McDavid, Nurse, and Draisaitl later on though, so I can't really complain.

If Yakupov doesn't work out for us here in the long run then I just hope we can trade him for a piece that does work out here.

 

[Aerrol]

Just going to add in a reminder that complaints about Eakins and Yakupov weren't limited to Nail's linemates. It was 1. His usage on ice (or lack thereof), 2. His inability to teach Yak anything, and 3. His constant scapegoating of Yakupov to the point of BENCHING HIM FOR SCORING A GOAL.

Yak wasn't paired with Hall much under Nelson either and yet I was much happier with his handling of Nail.

 

[Replacement*]

If yak doesn't succeed under MacLellan I think all oil fans will agree he's a bust, you think tmac will play him on the 3rd line? If he does he better be flanked by Drais/Lander or its a waste.

I think you'll see him start on the 2nd line with mcdavid and either Pouliot/Hall and they'll give him every chance to succeed or fail.

I wouldn't, Yak will succeed somewhere. Too much talent, and love for hockey and for his reason for playing to not succeed. just, that it might not be here depending on what this org does with him.

Some players take longer as well. Typically power forwards take longer as well. Theres some of that in Yaks game.

But really do people REALLY not notice that the Yak playing for Nelson or Kreuger was night and day different then what we saw with Eakins who pissed all over him?

Yak was flying out there the last 30games of the schedule and getting results. He was a handful in a lot of games and with a lot opponent teams coming in here and saying so.

Even people that dislike this player I'd be amazed if you really didn't note the difference because when Yak is on he's flying around with the puck and getting in dangerous spaces.

 

[UnrefinedCrude]

Also known as the "bench Yakupov."

Hall threw water at me? ****ing Yakupov..
Scrivens passed the puck into his own net again? Yakupov, ****ing sit!

I don't even remember any changes Eakins did. He wrote down the stupidest ideas and put them on a cork board, then threw darts at them before the game. 90% of the notes on the board were, "Bench Yakupov."

You forgot: Yak is +2 and just scored the tying goal...bench Yakupov.

 

[McAsuno]

You forgot: Yak is +2 and just scored the tying goal...bench Yakupov.

Anything about Eakins just stunk in general. How the players looked so much happier playing hockey again ; once that joke was gone speaks volume.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

Yakupov's goal per 60 since he got into the league is 0.89. If he plays 15 minutes a night for 82 games, he will need to up his G/60 to 1.7. How many players have scored 1.7 or more since 12/13? Stamkos and Ovechkin. Lets say he plays 17 minutes a night, then he will have to score 1.5 G/60 to reach 35. How many players have scored that since 12/13? Ovechkin, Stamkos, Nash, Perry and Pacioretty.

It's completely unrealistic (and unfair on the guy) to hope or expect him to become a 35 goal scorer.

EDIT: The G/60 is for the total regular season data range between 12/13 and 14/15, so not sorted by individual seasons.

It was 1.4g/60 his first year.

The rest of the time saw him not play a minute of the 3rd period saddled with a slumping Gagner, trying to babysit a raw rookie in Drai, playing on the 4th line, while playing under the worst coach we've ever seen.


So our AHL coach comes in, and gives him a bit of a boost, and saddles him with a waiver reject Roy... and now hes a player again. Quite a good player with 21 points in 31 games on the 3rd line.

So... you think there's no chance he 'breaks' out with a real coach, a generational Centre and a top 3 left winger in the game?

 

[McIce Whole]

I wouldn't, Yak will succeed somewhere. Too much talent, and love for hockey and for his reason for playing to not succeed. just, that it might not be here depending on what this org does with him.

Some players take longer as well. Typically power forwards take longer as well. Theres some of that in Yaks game.

But really do people REALLY not notice that the Yak playing for Nelson or Kreuger was night and day different then what we saw with Eakins who pissed all over him?

Yak was flying out there the last 30games of the schedule and getting results. He was a handful in a lot of games and with a lot opponent teams coming in here and saying so.

Even people that dislike this player I'd be amazed if you really didn't note the difference because when Yak is on he's flying around with the puck and getting in dangerous spaces.

This. It amazes me how people don't notice this. This is a player that has had success under every coach he's played for until Eakins. And to be fair...almost the entire roster struggled under him. One of, if not, the worst coach in this teams history. With a real NHL coach, I'm willing to bet Yak bounces back.

 

[GMofOilers]

I wouldn't, Yak will succeed somewhere. Too much talent, and love for hockey and for his reason for playing to not succeed. just, that it might not be here depending on what this org does with him.

Some players take longer as well. Typically power forwards take longer as well. Theres some of that in Yaks game.

But really do people REALLY not notice that the Yak playing for Nelson or Kreuger was night and day different then what we saw with Eakins who pissed all over him?

Yak was flying out there the last 30games of the schedule and getting results. He was a handful in a lot of games and with a lot opponent teams coming in here and saying so.

Even people that dislike this player I'd be amazed if you really didn't note the difference because when Yak is on he's flying around with the puck and getting in dangerous spaces.

No what we seen with previous coaches was a very streaky 5 game at a time player. When he wasn't producing on the scoresheet he was a very huge liability out on the ice.

 

[Replacement*]

No what we seen with previous coaches was a very streaky 5 game at a time player. When he was producing on the scoresheet he was a very huge liability out on the ice.

Theres just no win with you..

 

[GMofOilers]

Theres just no win with you..

I actually messed up. I meant when he wasn't producing not was! Lol my bad

Edit
Fixed my previous post!

 

[McDeathbyCheerios*]

My only concern with Yak is when he isn't producing he doesn't really bring much else to make it okay. Like when Pouliot isn't producing he is solid defensively and still does his job. Yak doesn't. I hope Yak is able to bring his other parts of his game up to average so that when he is in a drought he isn't a liability..

 

[IAGTTAYM]

It was 1.4g/60 his first year.

He was shooting at 21% in his first season, which clearly was not sustainable.

The rest of the time saw him not play a minute of the 3rd period saddled with a slumping Gagner, trying to babysit a raw rookie in Drai, playing on the 4th line, while playing under the worst coach we've ever seen.

Fair point, he has not been put in the best of situations.

So our AHL coach comes in, and gives him a bit of a boost, and saddles him with a waiver reject Roy... and now hes a player again. Quite a good player with 21 points in 31 games on the 3rd line.

He was reinvigorated and he did much better overall, I agree with that. But he was still at 0.88 G/60 after the new year, which was 119th among forwards (minimum 250min) in the NHL during that period of the regular season.

So... you think there's no chance he 'breaks' out with a real coach, a generational Centre and a top 3 left winger in the game

McDavid will help, and he will do better of course. My point was very simple though, he's miles away from being a top 10 goal scorer in the NHL and it's an unrealistic projection to make based on what we have seen of him in the last three seasons.

 

[Mr Positive]

My only concern with Yak is when he isn't producing he doesn't really bring much else to make it okay. Like when Pouliot isn't producing he is solid defensively and still does his job. Yak doesn't. I hope Yak is able to bring his other parts of his game up to average so that when he is in a drought he isn't a liability..

Yakupov is very good on the forecheck, pretty decent on the back check, and generally brings gritty play. His big drawback is defensive awareness and positioning, and that drawback has been very, very bad to the point where it downplays the good he does most of the time.

 

[McDynasty]

This. It amazes me how people don't notice this. This is a player that has had success under every coach he's played for until Eakins. And to be fair...almost the entire roster struggled under him. One of, if not, the worst coach in this teams history. With a real NHL coach, I'm willing to bet Yak bounces back.

No question, he was indeed the worst coach the Oilers have ever had.

 

[hallhopkinseberle]

No question, he was indeed the worst coach the Oilers have ever had.

maybe one of the worst coaches ever in the NHL

 

[McDynasty]

maybe one of the worst coaches ever in the NHL

He has my vote.

 

[YEGJuniorFan]

maybe one of the worst coaches ever in the NHL

Fewest wins ever for a coach who has been behind the bench for at least 100 NHL games.

 

[Tarus]

maybe one of the worst coaches ever in the NHL

There are probably worse coaches, but I bet most of them get fired within the first month(Barry Melrose's stint in Tbay comes to mind).