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Igor Larionov: Yakupov Open To Trade |
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Igor “The Professor” Larionov is making all kinds of waves right now on his client’s behalf and they are not the kind that many Oiler fans will be happy about. At the red carpet of the Hockey Hall of Fame Larionov has opened up to Craig Custance about the situation Nail Yakupov finds himself in and it isn’t pretty.
Naturally a player’s agent will always be on the lookout for what’s best for him and it’s not as if Larionov shouldn’t have some concerns. Yakupov lead the Oilers in goals last season as a rookie and yet has found himself 3rd on the depth chart at RW and most recently starting games on the 4th. The club has come out recently to express that Yakupov is going nowhere and they have had no plans on moving him along, but at the same time he is not getting a lot of playing time.
It’s not as if Yakupov’s troubles are a function of his place in the order mind you, he is legitimately struggling under new head coach Dallas Eakins’ system, but it must be difficult for Larionov to stand by while his client plays behind a 30 year old pending UFA like Ales Hemsky. If Edmonton was winning games and Yakupov was being sheltered it would be one thing, but on a team whose season is all but lost already it might be difficult to swallow the line that this is what’s best for the team and for Nail.
This season Yakupov has averaged 15:28 per game with 2:12 per game on the PP. In his rookie season he averaged just 14:33 per game with 2:38 per game on the PP. So, while his playing time in general is up slightly his PP time is down, which seems odd for a player who possesses such a world class shot. Naturally his rookie season started with less ice time but ended with more, however that trend did not continue into the new year.
Larionov will surely demand answers about why his client is not being used more in the Power Play and why Yakupov is finding himself stapled to the bench for making the same mistakes that Hall and Eberle did when they were at the same point in their careers. And no one will fault Larionov asking those questions, however, the mention of being open to a trade to any team in the league may only add fuel to this fire.
The Oilers have actively tried to put that fire out already, now Yak’s agent has poured kerosene all over it and is trying to light a match. Oiler brass cannot be happy about this and hopefully this comes from the agent and not the client, because the Oilers are in a bad place if Yakupov publicly states that he wants out of town. First off, he has a huge group of Yakophiles in Edmonton whose hearts will be broken, but perhaps more importantly the club will lose bargaining strength in the subsequent trade negotiations.
No matter how you look at this, the Oilers find themselves in a predicament.
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Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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