why not trade for yakupov then try to sign vanek so oh my god we might be able to have both with little loss as possible
if we don't get vanek who gives a poop
- 2Real

Maybe we can convince St. Louis to trade us Pietrangelo by offering them Morin, Hagg, Alt, Lauridsen, Voracek, Giroux, and Couturier. We need to get that #1 defenseman.

Maybe we can convince St. Louis to trade us Pietrangelo by offering them Morin, Hagg, Alt, Lauridsen, Voracek, Giroux, and Couturier. We need to get that #1 defenseman.
- jmatchett383

oh yea that trade makes complete sense

I did. They would be player that I would be willing to listen to offers to get a top line scorer or number 1 defense. I'm not saying give them away, but to really improve this team, I think you need some top end scorers.
- youarewrong

I don't mind trading anybody on this team away as long it's not some short-sighted Daniel Briere, Vinny Lecavalier, Mark Streit, Chris Pronger kind of addition.

why not trade for yakupov then try to sign vanek so oh my god we might be able to have both with little loss as possible
if we don't get vanek who gives a poop
- 2Real

You want to know why you might not want Yakupov? Watch what he does off the faceoff here... he's 64 blue, btw:

You want to know why you might not want Yakupov? Watch what he does off the faceoff here... he's 64 blue, btw:

- Tomahawk

i can't see 64 but that's a hell of a shot from ovechkin pure sniper
i'm also not advocating to get yakupov, i could care less if he was on this team or wasn't but people seem to be so keen on acquiring him

why not trade for yakupov then try to sign vanek so oh my god we might be able to have both with little loss as possible
if we don't get vanek who gives a poop
- 2Real

You want a guy who hogs the puck, doesn't care to pass, hit, battle for the puck, or play defense & was recently benched.

Guess he'd fit right in

You want a guy who hogs the puck, doesn't care to pass, hit, battle for the puck, or play defense & was recently benched.

Guess he'd fit right in
- ob18

read my previous post i don't care at all to try and get him

i can't see 64 but that's a hell of a shot from ovechkin pure sniper
i'm also not advocating to get yakupov, i could care less if he was on this team or wasn't but people seem to be so keen on acquiring him
- 2Real

He's young and a former #1 overall pick. His NHL production so far is about on par with Alexander Daigle, except that Daigle wasn't a healthy scratch at this point in his career.

So why was Voracek able to shine around him last year but not this year? Did they both just magically regress after 3 straight years (Giroux small step back last year) of improvement?

Also, I don't want to trade those 3 for a player who has issues with playing hard and was sat out because of it. I see a better version of Zherdev there.
- jmatchett383

If I'm not mistaken I did not include Voracek on that list. He did have a good season last year, but he also had a higher shooting percentage then any other time in his career. I'm hoping that its not a "fluke" year, but he has to be able to do that for a couple years for me to trust him.

Yakupov is not Zherdev. First he is buried behind some good players in Edmonton and he was benched because he was trying to "do it all himself" Sure he was mad about being benched. If he was Canadian or American people would take that as a desire to play, but because he is Russian, its automatically he is discontent and leaving for KHL.

And further more I think Zherdev got a bad rap here. He had 16 goals playing limited minutes on the 4th line in 56 games. In an 82 game season thats 24 goals as a 4th liner. He was seeing about the same ice time a Nodl, Wellwood and Powe. If he played the same amount of minutes as Giroux that year who had 25 goals, Zherdev would have had 35.

read my previous post i don't care at all to try and get him
- 2Real

A wise post too.

You want a guy who hogs the puck, doesn't care to pass, hit, battle for the puck, or play defense & was recently benched.

Guess he'd fit right in
- ob18

he'll be sick in a few years bro

If I'm not mistaken I did not include Voracek on that list. He did have a good season last year, but he also had a higher shooting percentage then any other time in his career. I'm hoping that its not a "fluke" year, but he has to be able to do that for a couple years for me to trust him.

Yakupov is not Zherdev. First he is buried behind some good players in Edmonton and he was benched because he was trying to "do it all himself" Sure he was mad about being benched. If he was Canadian or American people would take that as a desire to play, but because he is Russian, its automatically he is discontent and leaving for KHL.

And further more I think Zherdev got a bad rap here. He had 16 goals playing limited minutes on the 4th line in 56 games. In an 82 game season thats 24 goals as a 4th liner. He was seeing about the same ice time a Nodl, Wellwood and Powe. If he played the same amount of minutes as Giroux that year who had 25 goals, Zherdev would have had 35.
- youarewrong

Zherdev also left the rink in a hissy fit when he found out he was benched only to be called on to play. Jody Shelley stayed around and got to play instead. that's why Zherdev didn't play that often. Not the mental makeup you want.

But sure, let's trade 2 roster players and a former first round draft pick for a young guy who's been benched for not wanting to be a team player or caring about defense. Solid planning.

i can't see 64 but that's a hell of a shot from ovechkin pure sniper
i'm also not advocating to get yakupov, i could care less if he was on this team or wasn't but people seem to be so keen on acquiring him
- 2Real

He's the guy who circles a full 180 degrees around the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league and manages not to touch him once... for some inexplicable reason, he thought the other team winning the faceoff meant it was the prefect time to get a head start toward the other end of the ice.

He's young and a former #1 overall pick. His NHL production so far is about on par with Alexander Daigle, except that Daigle wasn't a healthy scratch at this point in his career.
- jmatchett383

his production is also on par with guys like Tavares and E. Kane and Taylor hall

He's the guy who circles a full 180 degrees around the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league and manages not to touch him once... for some inexplicable reason, he thought the other team winning the faceoff meant it was the prefect time to get a head start toward the other end of the ice.
- Tomahawk

BUST

He's the guy who circles a full 180 degrees around the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league and manages not to touch him once... for some inexplicable reason, he thought the other team winning the faceoff meant it was the prefect time to get a head start toward the other end of the ice.
- Tomahawk

the whole team looks like they botched it up. Wouldn't OV be a defenseman's cover and Yak was going out to the point? The whole set up looks like a fail.

He's the guy who circles a full 180 degrees around the most dangerous goal-scorer in the league and manages not to touch him once... for some inexplicable reason, he thought the other team winning the faceoff meant it was the prefect time to get a head start toward the other end of the ice.
- Tomahawk

I can think of 20 guys in 20 seconds who do the same type of stuff, including Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel.

I can think of 20 guys in 20 seconds who do the same type of stuff, including Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel.
- AllInForFlyers

Kessel and Kane are productive... Yakupov not so much.

You want a guy who hogs the puck, doesn't care to pass, hit, battle for the puck, or play defense & was recently benched.

Guess he'd fit right in
- ob18

Do I want a player with a shoot first, get into scoring position, and think offense first. Yea I kind of do. He is just a second year player. Everyone wants to be patient with Schenn and Couts, but why would they be impatient with Yakupov. In his second year, he can be taught to be better defensively. I'm not saying he will be the best defensive player, but not every player is meant to play like that. What you described reminds me a lot of someone called Jaromir Jagr. And someone like.... Pavel Bure. That had pretty good NHL careers.

Kessel and Kane are productive... Yakupov not so much.
- Tomahawk

He was on pace for 30 goals in his rookie season.... how is that not productive?

he'll be sick in a few years bro
- DJL

If he realizes he needs to round out his game I don't doubt he can be at that level.

Do I want a player with a shoot first, get into scoring position, and think offense first. Yea I kind of do. He is just a second year player. Everyone wants to be patient with Schenn and Couts, but why would they be impatient with Yakupov. In his second year, he can be taught to be better defensively. I'm not saying he will be the best defensive player, but not every player is meant to play like that. What you described reminds me a lot of someone called Jaromir Jagr. And someone like.... Pavel Bure. That had pretty good NHL careers.
- youarewrong

I agree with this completely. I absolutely do not understand why every single player has to look like a Selke Trophy candidate, every single minute of every single game, but if they look like a Rocket Richard winner for one shift, well, hell, that guy's awful because heaven forbid anyone ever think that the best defense is a good offense.

Zherdev also left the rink in a hissy fit when he found out he was benched only to be called on to play. Jody Shelley stayed around and got to play instead. that's why Zherdev didn't play that often. Not the mental makeup you want.

But sure, let's trade 2 roster players and a former first round draft pick for a young guy who's been benched for not wanting to be a team player or caring about defense. Solid planning.
- jmatchett383

There was a lot of frustration leading up to that point. I mean he was playing on a 4th line, then started getting scratched, while still putting up good offensive production. I would be pissed too, and I might have left too. Its like the Media and his team-mates never gave him a chance once he was brought back from Russia.

I'm ok with 6 million for Vanek. But what about Yakupov then. He has top line all-star scoring talent. He is cap friendly and will be around for a long time....

Would you trade Simmonds, Laughton, and Coburn for him?
- youarewrong

Nope. Too much for an intangible who apparently has an attitude problem.

The dumbing down of hockey just irritates the hell out of me. If Ken Hitchcock would've gotten hold of Wayne Gretzky in 1980, he would've told him that 50 goals in 38 games was selfish, 200 points doesn't mean anything if you don't backcheck a guy when you've already got two goals in the game, and giving up one scoring chance means you're lazy -- even though you created 10 scoring chances yourself.