Player Discussion Yak Talk Part IV: It's nearly time... For camp

[Draiskull]

Based on what? If he can't beat out a tryout and a rookie... He's in serious trouble.

What makes you think he cant beat them out?

 

[guymez]

People who are saying Yakupov won't even make the roster are crazy rofl

Why is it crazy to suggest that Puljujarvi and/or Versteeg could possibly take away a roster spot form an inconsistent and under preforming player like Yak?

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

What makes you think he cant beat them out?

I dunno, the meager offensive output from a supposed goal scoring machine? At BEST he's the #2 right winger on the team and that's being super generous. Versteeg can put the puck in the net and JP is no slouch either.

Eakins has been gone for over a season and Yakupov has yet to really produce the way we were all told he could.

 

[Draiskull]

Why is it crazy to suggest that Puljujarvi and/or Versteeg could possibly take away a roster spot form an inconsistent and under preforming player like Yak?

There is a difference between "could possibly" and "cant beat out".
RNH has been inconsistent and underperforming..
Draisaitl was inconsistent and compared to the first half of the season mightily underperformed.

Sure Yak could fail once again but lets just wait til it actually happens. If preforms up to par with Puljujarvi we will have the option of send Pulju down to develop and have a great callup WHEN (not IF) injuries happen.

Lets face the fact.. Yak has no trade value.. Eberle does.. Neither really fit Chia's model. If Puljujarvi and Versteeg have great camps and Ebs and Yak dont there is a greater chance that Eberle gets shipped away. Its not just Yak whose neck is on the line. There is competition everywhere.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

There is a difference between "could possibly" and "cant beat out".
RNH has been inconsistent and underperforming..
Draisaitl was inconsistent and compared to the first half of the season mightily underperformed.

Sure Yak could fail once again but lets just wait til it actually happens. If preforms up to par with Puljujarvi we will have the option of send Pulju down to develop and have a great callup WHEN (not IF) injuries happen.

Lets face the fact.. Yak has no trade value.. Eberle does.. Neither really fit Chia's model. If Puljujarvi and Versteeg have great camps and Ebs and Yak dont there is a greater chance that Eberle gets shipped away. Its not just Yak whose neck is on the line. There is competition everywhere.

Yeah, shipping out our best goal scorer sounds like a great idea.

Also centers >>>>>>>>>>>>> wingers every day of the week. That's why they generally have lesser value.

If Chia ships out Eberle and Yak while promoting JP to the top RW spot then nothing really has changed. Going into the year with Eberle/Versteeg as the top two RWers, shipping Yak off or playing him on the third line isn't a bad way to go about things.

It amazes me how people are so ready to ship out Eberle when there's basically nothing behind him.

 

[Draiskull]

I dunno, the meager offensive output from a supposed goal scoring machine? At BEST he's the #2 right winger on the team and that's being super generous. Versteeg can put the puck in the net and JP is no slouch either.

Eakins has been gone for over a season and Yakupov has yet to really produce the way we were all told he could.

2.5M 2nd line winger... I dont see an issue with that..
If he gets on McDavid's line and clicks like last year (10pts in 10games in Oct) then he is worth keeping around.

2 more weeks and we find out what version of Yak we have... Like others have said this is his last chance.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

2.5M 2nd line winger... I dont see an issue with that..
If he gets on McDavid's line and clicks like last year (10pts in 10games in Oct) then he is worth keeping around.

2 more weeks and we find out what version of Yak we have... Like others have said this is his last chance.

Well you're right about that, 2 more weeks.

The problem here is that the Oilers don't have the time to wait and see if Yak clicks or not. Brutal Octobers the past few years have doomed them.

 

[Draiskull]

Yeah, shipping out our best goal scorer sounds like a great idea.

Also centers >>>>>>>>>>>>> wingers every day of the week. That's why they generally have lesser value.

If Chia ships out Eberle and Yak while promoting JP to the top RW spot then nothing really has changed. Going into the year with Eberle/Versteeg as the top two RWers, shipping Yak off or playing him on the third line isn't a bad way to go about things.

It amazes me how people are so ready to ship out Eberle when there's basically nothing behind him.

we already did that when we got Larsson.

As for Eberle, unlike Yak Ebs actually has trade value .. so we would either be getting a top 4 Dman or would be getting a forward that fits into Chia's grander scheme ala Hall\Lucic.

 

[Canovin]

The cap with everyone on their 2nd contract:

Lucic(6)-McDavid(8)-(4)
(4)-RNH(6)-Ebs(6)
(2)-Drai(6)-Pulju(6)
(1)-(1)-(1)

Klef(4.2)-Larsson(4.25)
Sekera(5.5)-(4)
Davidson(3)-(2)
(1)
Talbot(4.5)
(1)

That's 80.5M. This is with McDavid, Drai and Pulju taking a discount and without Ebs getting a raise. I don't see how Ebs fits here beyond his RFA contract.

 

[Soundwave]

I'd have traded him for Nischushkin if Dallas was willing. Swap of disgruntled Russians.

 

[DerpMorg]

McDavid has trade value too. Should we ship him out too just because of the potential return? Maybe go to having RNH as our #1 center again?

Trading Eberle now without getting another RW in return is leaving us with Versteeg (maybe), a rookie, and an underwhelming Yakupov as our RW depth.

Really improving the team there.

 

[Soundwave]

The cap with everyone on their 2nd contract:

Lucic(6)-McDavid(8)-(4)
(4)-RNH(6)-Ebs(6)
(2)-Drai(6)-Pulju(6)
(1)-(1)-(1)

Klef(4.2)-Larsson(4.25)
Sekera(5.5)-(4)
Davidson(3)-(2)
(1)
Talbot(4.5)
(1)

That's 80.5M. This is with McDavid, Drai and Pulju taking a discount and without Ebs getting a raise. I don't see how Ebs fits here beyong his RFA contract.

Dump that Sekera contract in a couple of years.

 

[Leon Draisaitl]

I dunno, the meager offensive output from a supposed goal scoring machine? At BEST he's the #2 right winger on the team and that's being super generous. Versteeg can put the puck in the net and JP is no slouch either.

Eakins has been gone for over a season and Yakupov has yet to really produce the way we were all told he could.

Are you just gonna ignore his output when not playing with career bottom 6 players? He's a consistent 40-50 point player when playing with a middle 6 (or better) playmaking center. Sure, that's not what we all hoped and expected but 45 points would put him tied 27th in the league for RWs which would make him a 1st liner...

If he plays with McDavid and continues his pace (no reason he wouldn't) and gets ~65 points, that makes him a top 10 RW.

I know people rag on him but the team is best with him on McDavid's wing.

 

[DerpMorg]

Are you just gonna ignore his output when not playing with career bottom 6 players? He's a consistent 40-50 point player when playing with a middle 6 (or better) playmaking center. Sure, that's not what we all hoped and expected but 45 points would put him tied 27th in the league for RWs which would make him a 1st liner...

If he plays with McDavid and continues his pace (no reason he wouldn't) and gets ~65 points, that makes him a top 10 RW.

I know people rag on him but the team is best with him on McDavid's wing.

Bolded for questionable. He hasn't consistently put up points even with first line players. People keep saying that he did like that's actually true.

 

[Draiskull]

Well you're right about that, 2 more weeks.

The problem here is that the Oilers don't have the time to wait and see if Yak clicks or not. Brutal Octobers the past few years have doomed them.

So your suggestion is to cut bait right now?

As if this is the only "wait and see" storyline the Oilers have going.

We dont know what Klefbom-Larsson will look like,
Kassian, Nurse, Reinhart, Gustavsson, Puljujarvi, Lander, Letestu, Pouliot, Maroon will all have to prove something.
McDavid with C, Ebs without Hall and Schultz, Davidson, Loooooch .. so many story lines but lets just freak out over Yakupov hurting the Oilers in October!

 

[Draiskull]

McDavid has trade value too. Should we ship him out too just because of the potential return? Maybe go to having RNH as our #1 center again?

Trading Eberle now without getting another RW in return is leaving us with Versteeg (maybe), a rookie, and an underwhelming Yakupov as our RW depth.

Really improving the team there.

yeh... great comparison.. Generational talent to a one dimensional goal scorer.

news flash but Draisaitl can play RW too and does a better job at it than Eberle.

Lucic-McDavid-Draisaitl
Pouliot-RNH-Puljujarvi

is great top 6 if it means Eberle's return shores up our D.

 

[Mr Positive]

we already did that when we got Larsson.

As for Eberle, unlike Yak Ebs actually has trade value .. so we would either be getting a top 4 Dman or would be getting a forward that fits into Chia's grander scheme ala Hall\Lucic.

most of HF would disagree with you on that bolded part. Despite Eberle being a more consistent point producer than Yak, his high cap hit limits who we can trade with, and very few teams are looking to spend money on the wings. If Hall only got Larsson, who do you think we'd get with Eberle?

Eberle is a more pure goal scorer than Yak, so his trade value could go crazy high this year. If McDavid stays healthy and the team spends more time in the offensive zone, we're talking potentially 40 goals from him. Then we'd get some trading partners.

 

[Canovin]

The narrative here is, if Yak had any value he would have been traded. Same with Ebs. If he had enough value to get a top 4 D, he would have been traded. Now we are stuck with both

 

[Soundwave]

The narrative here is, if Yak had any value he would have been traded. Same with Ebs. If he had enough value to get a top 4 D, he would have been traded. Now we are stuck with both

One actually produces though, that's kinda the difference.

 

[Draiskull]

The narrative here is, if Yak had any value he would have been traded. Same with Ebs. If he had enough value to get a top 4 D, he would have been traded. Now we are stuck with both

which isnt really a bad thing... It could actually be a blessing in disguise.. I dont get why we have to bash our own players ..

Sekera has looked good playing RD and Davidson looked solid last year as a top 4 Dman... We might not have to break the bank to shore up the D. Lets just wait and see how things pan out the next 2 weeks before we carry on with burning cribs.

 

[Roof Daddy]

Well you're right about that, 2 more weeks.

The problem here is that the Oilers don't have the time to wait and see if Yak clicks or not. Brutal Octobers the past few years have doomed them.

Are you honestly suggesting our win-loss record directly hinges on Yakupov's performance? You talk as though if he's given another chance and fails, the season is shot, so better just ship him off.

The people championing Versteeg and slotting him into a roster spot already are going to be very disappointed in a few weeks. There's a reason the guy could only get a PTO.

 

[Canovin]

One actually produces though, that's kinda the difference.

Wrong. The difference is how you use them. Both players produces.

Lucic-McDavid-Yak
Pou-RNH-Ebs

 

[belair]

Neither was Rieder. They will likely never put Ebs numbers but I think we can expect 40 points middle 6 players that provide a 2-way game for a fraction of what Ebs cost. That's good enough considering we have McDavid-RNH-Drai down the middle. The wingers don't have to be expensive elite players.

Rieder's two-way play was pretty evident in junior IMO. He was very impressive in his time there.

When the guy we're talking about in this thread has yet to hit the 40 point mark with the raw talent he possesses, I wouldn't bank on either of these guys being sure bets.

 

[guymez]

There is a difference between "could possibly" and "cant beat out".
RNH has been inconsistent and underperforming..
Draisaitl was inconsistent and compared to the first half of the season mightily underperformed.

Sure Yak could fail once again but lets just wait til it actually happens. If preforms up to par with Puljujarvi we will have the option of send Pulju down to develop and have a great callup WHEN (not IF) injuries happen.

Lets face the fact.. Yak has no trade value.. Eberle does.. Neither really fit Chia's model. If Puljujarvi and Versteeg have great camps and Ebs and Yak dont there is a greater chance that Eberle gets shipped away. Its not just Yak whose neck is on the line. There is competition everywhere.

If I was to bet money I would bet that Yak drops down the roster due to the inclusion of Puljujarvi and Versteeg. I think that Puljujarvi's skillset will easily transfer to the NHL and that he will pass Yak on the depth chart in the next 3 weeks. I also think that Versteeg is likely to do the same thing simply because of his versatility and experience.

Yak is a one trick pony and his trick is inconsistent at best. Thats his downfall as a player. Things have to be just right for Yak to even give him a chance to do his trick effectively. I also question his ability to fight through adversity. The past has shown that Yak sulks and quits instead of putting on his big boy pants and fighting through adversity. Running to his agent to 'fix' things (ice time, line mates et al) and practicing by himself away from the rest of the team are red flags for me. History matters and history suggests very strongly that there is very little reason to think Yak going to suddenly change this season. It could happen but the smart money suggests otherwise.

Regarding Yaks trade value....just because Yak has little to no trade value by himself does not justify trading Eberle just because he has value.
That is a rather superficial and short sighted reason to trade the teams only effective one shot scorer.

 

[Canovin]

If I was to bet money I would bet that Yak drops down the roster due to the inclusion of Puljujarvi and Versteeg. I think that Puljujarvi's skillset will easily transfer to the NHL and that he will pass Yak on the depth chart in the next 3 weeks. I also think that Versteeg is likely to do the same thing simply because of his versatility and experience.

Yak is a one trick pony and his trick is inconsistent at best. Thats his downfall as a player. Things have to be just right for Yak to even give him a chance to do his trick effectively. I also question his ability to fight through adversity. The past has shown that Yak sulks and quits instead of putting on his big boy pants and fighting through adversity. Running to his agent to 'fix' things (ice time, line mates et al) and practicing by himself away from the rest of the team are red flags for me. History matters and history suggests very strongly that there is very little reason to think Yak going to suddenly change this season. It could happen but the smart money suggests otherwise.

Regarding Yaks trade value....just because Yak has little to no trade value by himself does not justify trading Eberle just because he has value.
That is a rather superficial and short sighted reason to trade the teams only effective one shot scorer.

Neither really has much value which is why Hall was traded.