More like a trend. Hall and Eberle have suffered through the worst of the worst years yet they never went public about trade demands. Yak has done himself zero favours and doesn't show much commitment to the Oilers off the ice.
Yup. One instance. lmao.
Can you source all these claims?
I could, but why would I spend my morning digging through google to satisfy the interests of folks who haven't been paying attention?
Yakupov has complained about coaching, ice time, line mates. I quoted one of his little whines
directly from the long, amusing blog post (linked above) that was supposed to be defending the player. So even his defenders concede that he complains a lot. Heck a few seasons back he complained that nobody gives him a ride to practice ffs.
Lack of responsibility? Several reports have surfaced about Yakupov refusing to do what he is asked of him. Poor practice habits were also reported on. Plus if you watch the games you see a player who takes no responsibility at all for the way he plays. But we have a dozen videos of yakupov 'training' held up as prooof of how hard he works. What I notice is that he is alone in all of the videos.
Trade requests? These are common knowledge.
“Absolutely. As far as I know trade has come very close. I've been out of a suitcase. Me and my agent Igor Larionov were given permission to talk to other teams. A number of teams were interested. But
at the last moment something went wrong. And I'm still here.â€
Love that bolded part. Sounds like a guy we really want to utilize on the first line with our best talent.
Larionov and Yakupov went the me-me-me route. “We’re willing to make a move. Any team.†That was 65 games, less than a full season, into Yakupov’s tenure in Edmonton. That’s pulling the chute pretty quick in my books.
After 65 games this little whiner was already trying to check out. Imagine if he faced real pressure like say what Hall or Eberle or RNH have put up with for season after season. All the fortitude of a grape on this kid, honestly.