The Mountain Man Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 "The Oilers pick this year could be a godsend in a trade. They don't need it." I think they do need that player actually. We talk about all these great picks and young studs but really - Eberle will be moved, hopefully for a good Dman, - Yakapov is really a write off and they are the worst team in the league AGAIN. I would keep him and play him on the third pairing.... we have waited this long...lets wait a another season for our own guys to grow. Add 1 Dman through trade (Eberle) and sign one and they make the playoffs next season.... stick with Sekera, Klefbom, Nurse and Davidson...the last three are all Rookies basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 1 hour ago, The Mountain Man said: "The Oilers pick this year could be a godsend in a trade. They don't need it." I think they do need that player actually. We talk about all these great picks and young studs but really - Eberle will be moved, hopefully for a good Dman, - Yakapov is really a write off and they are the worst team in the league AGAIN. I would keep him and play him on the third pairing.... we have waited this long...lets wait a another season for our own guys to grow. Add 1 Dman through trade (Eberle) and sign one and they make the playoffs next season.... stick with Sekera, Klefbom, Nurse and Davidson...the last three are all Rookies basically. I really don't know about that. He certainly isn't a star player, and he does bizarre things like going down low to cover, and then pushing the puck up the wall..... where he should be standing. Crazy stuff. He'll never win a Selke, but it's become a thing where people talk about how Yak never developed, but we don't really look at the finer details. Jordan Eberle is a great player to compare him with, actually. Eberle with Hall - 3.11 GFon/60. Yakupov? 3.37 The difference? Nail Yakupov has played twice as many minutes with Mark Fayne and Andrew Ference than he has with Taylor Hall. Eberle with McDavid: 3.79 GFON/60, with Nail at 3.80 GFON/60. All we hear about is how Eberle and Connor were great together, while Yakupov is considered a write-off. He'll go to another team for pennies on the dollar and, if used properly, could well have success. Yakupov was foisted on the hockey men in the organization, and they've never used him well. Other players (Eberle for example) would screw up defensively, do a fly-by, etc, and not miss a shift: they got the carrot. When Yakupov does that, he's shackled with tough zone starts on offensively-challenged players, and people wonder why the offense doesn't come. Why do that? Because Oilers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mountain Man Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 12 hours ago, JR Ewing said: I really don't know about that. He certainly isn't a star player, and he does bizarre things like going down low to cover, and then pushing the puck up the wall..... where he should be standing. Crazy stuff. He'll never win a Selke, but it's become a thing where people talk about how Yak never developed, but we don't really look at the finer details. Jordan Eberle is a great player to compare him with, actually. Eberle with Hall - 3.11 GFon/60. Yakupov? 3.37 The difference? Nail Yakupov has played twice as many minutes with Mark Fayne and Andrew Ference than he has with Taylor Hall. Eberle with McDavid: 3.79 GFON/60, with Nail at 3.80 GFON/60. All we hear about is how Eberle and Connor were great together, while Yakupov is considered a write-off. He'll go to another team for pennies on the dollar and, if used properly, could well have success. Yakupov was foisted on the hockey men in the organization, and they've never used him well. Other players (Eberle for example) would screw up defensively, do a fly-by, etc, and not miss a shift: they got the carrot. When Yakupov does that, he's shackled with tough zone starts on offensively-challenged players, and people wonder why the offense doesn't come. Why do that? Because Oilers. Good points !! I do know that Yak is not liked as a "TEAM GUY".... have heard from the dressing room that he is not a social guy...doesn't join them for dinner often....doesn't hang out beyond the rink... that does matter to young guys and may trickle over to non preferential treatment on the ice if he isn't liked. Maybe he will thrive elsewhere.... I would like to see both him and Eberle moved as I stated above. Good points JR Ewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 15 hours ago, The Mountain Man said: "The Oilers pick this year could be a godsend in a trade. They don't need it." I think they do need that player actually. We talk about all these great picks and young studs but really - Eberle will be moved, hopefully for a good Dman, - Yakapov is really a write off and they are the worst team in the league AGAIN. I would keep him and play him on the third pairing.... we have waited this long...lets wait a another season for our own guys to grow. Add 1 Dman through trade (Eberle) and sign one and they make the playoffs next season.... stick with Sekera, Klefbom, Nurse and Davidson...the last three are all Rookies basically. JR beat me to it, but Yakupov is not a write off. In the right situation, he has proven able to produce. Up front they have a powerful trio of Centers. McDavid, Draisaitl, and RNH. Draisaitl showed he can play wing pretty damn well if needs be. They also have Hall and Pouliot solidifying their top 6. Yakupov proved potent beside McDavid. If anything they need to solidify their bottom 6, and that is a good problem to have. The opposite of most teams in fact. I think a trade of Hamonic + the rights to Frans Nielsen for Eberle would go a long way. If they can convince Nielsen to sign, they suddenly can bump Draisaitl to RW, where he tore it up initially alongside RNH and Hall. Nielsen is a good 2nd line C, but would be a better 3rd line C. Hall/RNH/Draisaitl Pouliot/McDavid/Yakupov ?????/Nielsen/Hendricks Assuming healthy, looks pretty good to me. it also gives their defense a base of: Sekera/Klefbom Hamonic/?????? The pick is a damn good one assuming they don't get bumped down the draft lottery and would command a hefty price. The most obvious spot to turn that pick into instant equity is Defense. I would arguably say Luke Schenn is a strong UFA candidate for them to target as well. Can play right or left and has been good in the Kings top 4, while not bad in Philly's top 6. If they really feel the need to target an offensive Dman via UFA, then Yandle is available. But he is a left handed shot and won't thrive under TMac trust me. In fact, most defensemen will not do much offensively under TMac's system until he picks a favorite and then only that one guy will have the go ahead to activate offensively. In terms of style, it is ironic that Demers would fit in much better under Deboer for the Sharks than he did under Tmac. Deboer has really let our defense jump in more. But he is also a viable top 4 target for the Oilers. Yet potential options for that draft pick exist. Assuming teams are willing to trade within division, Vatanen might soon become an odd man out in Anaheim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 1 hour ago, The Mountain Man said: Good points !! I do know that Yak is not liked as a "TEAM GUY".... have heard from the dressing room that he is not a social guy...doesn't join them for dinner often....doesn't hang out beyond the rink... that does matter to young guys and may trickle over to non preferential treatment on the ice if he isn't liked. Maybe he will thrive elsewhere.... I would like to see both him and Eberle moved as I stated above. Good points JR Ewing. Yeah, he's had a hard time fitting in. For religious reasons (he's a practicing Muslim), he doesn't party, go clubbing or drink any alcohol so that alone would make him an odd duck compared to a lot of players, especially young ones, and can definitely rub people the wrong way. When I was 20, I woke up after partying with friends, and felt sick as a dog. I said that old classic line "Oh, never again." and it actually ended up being the last time for the past 23 years. My friends? When I went out with them the next week and didn't have anything to drink, they just laughed and said they knew would do the driving. The next time after that, when we went out and I still didn't drink, they spent half the night trying to get me to go along. Over the next couple of months, it became pretty clear that they were becoming offended that I wouldn't drink with them, and the idea hatched that I thought I was better than them. My reasons were my own (I preferred not feeling like crap) but they saw it as a reflection on them, and that was it. I was out, never to be called again. Now, I can only imagine what that's like when you travel so much with guys, and take part in aggressive sport where a certain amount of camaraderie is required. His teammates reaction could be more pronounced than what I experienced. Add to that the fact that Yakupov didn't even drive until recently, and was being dropped off and picked up at the arena by his mother, and Yakupov admitted that the guys teased him about it every time. He doesn't do any dating, and said that he's not particularly interested in Canadian girls, finding them to be a bit unpolished compared to Russian ladies (Nizhnekamsk must be the pearl of the Tatar plains, I guess), and says that, since he doesn't go out, he spends a lot of his free time at home chatting with old friends back home and reading the news. You're right; he hasn't fit in as well as you'd like on a personal level with his teammates. I don't think it means that he has to go, but it's a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I watched enough Oiler games to get a good read on Yakupov, he shoots low percentage shots, carrying the puck in on the wing and rather than work towards the net he shoots from outside WAY to often, instead of passing or anything else, he flips it on net hoping for a rebound or something. I just don't understand his lack of hockey IQ. I agree he has all the talent in the world, but he continues to avoid the dirty end of the ice, preferring to stay out on the wing. In todays game, you cannot win that way. Eberle is someone that as a Wings fan I have been drooling over for years. We could really use him but don't have the d-man to make it happen. If I were the Oilers I would hold onto him and instead trade....RNH. RNH is soft and brittle. Suited perfectly to the 2C role with McDavid as the 1C but with the emergence of Draisatl he is the one I would deal if I ran the Oilers. A team like the Wild would kill to add him and may have the pieces in play. No way I trade Hall. ever. He will score 50 with McDavid setting the table. Add a top pair shut down guy, the team is closer than they have been in forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podein25 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 46 minutes ago, JR Ewing said: he's a practicing Muslim) I did not know that. Or much of the rest of it. It sounds like his teammates aren't really doing much to help him feel included. If he's just sitting at home reading Russian news, chatting with Russian friends and family, he's gonna end up back in Russia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 1 hour ago, yave1964 said: I watched enough Oiler games to get a good read on Yakupov, he shoots low percentage shots, carrying the puck in on the wing and rather than work towards the net he shoots from outside WAY to often, instead of passing or anything else, he flips it on net hoping for a rebound or something. I just don't understand his lack of hockey IQ. I agree he has all the talent in the world, but he continues to avoid the dirty end of the ice, preferring to stay out on the wing. In todays game, you cannot win that way. Eberle is someone that as a Wings fan I have been drooling over for years. We could really use him but don't have the d-man to make it happen. If I were the Oilers I would hold onto him and instead trade....RNH. RNH is soft and brittle. Suited perfectly to the 2C role with McDavid as the 1C but with the emergence of Draisatl he is the one I would deal if I ran the Oilers. A team like the Wild would kill to add him and may have the pieces in play. No way I trade Hall. ever. He will score 50 with McDavid setting the table. Add a top pair shut down guy, the team is closer than they have been in forever. As I said, he can drive you crazy, and some of what he does doesn't make a lot of sense. Nevertheless, when he's played with skill, he's produced. But will he ever be the guy that drives play? No, he's a complimentary player. Quote RNH is soft and brittle. Suited perfectly to the 2C role with McDavid as the 1C but with the emergence of Draisatl he is the one I would deal if I ran the Oilers. A team like the Wild would kill to add him and may have the pieces in play. Soft and brittle seems a tad harsh, imo. When RNH joined the NHL, he came in at 165 lbs AND with a shoulder which needed surgery but management decided to play him anyway. He came in and produced a lot right away, but then he hit a rut in the ice in Chicago, and slammed that shoulder into the glass and then they had no choice but to operate on it. That's much more a case of a boneheaded organization refusing to protect an asset than one of a soft player. Since then, he played 40 in a lockout-shortened 2013, 80 in 2014, and 76 games in 2015. This year, his time missed was due to breaking his hand blocking a shot and then a concussion. To my mind, and we may think differently on this, "soft and brittle" guys are the types who are hurt a lot when being hit or always missing games due to "soreness", etc. That's not been RNH's thing: even when he was skinny (he's a little over 190 lbs now) he was never banged around by bigger men. If they trade him, then once again, the Oilers would be right back to having 19 and 20 year old centres opening the season, with I-don't-know-who-it-will-be-but-it-has-to-be-somebody playing the rest of the minutes. IMO, I'd rather move Eberle (as well as his non-comittment to playing both halves of the arena). Draisaitl will happily play wing, and doesn't have the two-way game which RNH has. I suspect that we deeply disagree on these points. Quote No way I trade Hall. ever. He will score 50 with McDavid setting the table. Add a top pair shut down guy, the team is closer than they have been in forever. Hall? We profoundly agree on this one. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR Ewing Posted April 12, 2016 Author Share Posted April 12, 2016 29 minutes ago, Podein25 said: I did not know that. Or much of the rest of it. It sounds like his teammates aren't really doing much to help him feel included. If he's just sitting at home reading Russian news, chatting with Russian friends and family, he's gonna end up back in Russia. Yeah, it seems like there's a pretty big cultural divide between he and his teammates, though I have no idea what they have or haven't done to help him out. If he doesn't want to go to the clubs, then he's locked out of a lot of what the guys like to do during the season. For summer, he goes back to Russia as soon as he has a chance, to spend time with his friends and family back home. Considering his life in Edmonton, he's probably a bit lonely, and very happy to get back. The great thing: it hasn't appeared to impact his desire, and he still always shows interest and enthusiasm on the ice. Then again, if I can tell that from my couch, maybe I should take my skills in the field of human perception and check is CSIS is hiring new analysts... But, that's what it looks like to me when I see Yakupov. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 I like the offense that Eberle can bring. as a rule, I believe in building from the middle out which excludes him in a conversation between he and RNH as to who to trade. But RNH seems snakebit and cannot keep from getting injured. Eberle, 28 goals, 60 points give or take pencil it in year in and year out. RNH has more of an upside and like you said keeps the Oilers from playing two kids at center but the constant injury risk is starting to raise questions. Personally I would deal him now while you can. I completely agree that Yakupov, in the right role still has value, but that role has yet to be defined. If the Wings could a way of creating a role for Abdelkader who looked like a bust for the first four years of his career and now is serviceable, at the least, the Oilers can certainly find a role for Yak. Third line winger, first power play, something like that, tell him that when he has the puck he has to take the inside track to the net or lose ice time. I would certainly not give up on him. As the first pick in the draft he is a bust, but as a player, still very usable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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