On Nail Yakupov …
Ryan McKenna of Sportsnet: Nail Yakupov’s agent, Igor Larionov, on Yakupov’s trade request.
“Nail loves the city of Edmonton, he loves the fans, and would obviously would love to stay there. But I guess at some point he needs a fresh start and fresh air to move on,” said Larionov.
Larionov had permission to speak with teams about a potential trade, and has been in contact with six or seven teams.
“We’ve been in talk before deadline so they’re (Oilers) trying to find him a new spot, they’re trying to find him a new team,” he said. “I asked for permission to talk to a couple of other teams and I did actually talk and we’ve been talking and a few other teams have kind of shown some interest.”
“We went back and forth right to the end (with teams),” said Larionov.
“I was talking to teams and trying to make a push, but Peter has the final say,” said Larionov.
“I can suggest and help (change of venue) but I can’t decide. He belongs to Edmonton, and they have a right to decide where he’s going to go. If he gets good value (in return) he’ll pull the trigger. I was hoping we could work a deal and Nail would get some fresh air, and they (Oilers) would get a new player and it would be a win-win for everybody.
“Peter and I had a great time talking hockey, and we were trying to keep it quiet not to be loud like with Jonathan Drouin. Patience is very important in the game.”
The Oilers could trade Yakupov by the draft, and maybe for another teams failed first round pick.
Larionov shot down any idea of Yakupov going back to Russia.
Platinum Seat Ghosts: Bob McKenzie on Yakupov: “When this news broke on the weekend, I don’t think anyone was surprised by it.”
Chris Nichols: Larionov on Yakupov: “When you got five coaches, and you got some different ideas every time, you can be confused.”
Chris Nichols: Pierre LeBrun on teams giving agents permission to talk to other teams about potential trades: “It’s happening more and more.”
Chris Nichols: LeBrun on the trade request coming out: “I don’t know if it changes much. I mean, everyone knew he was available.”
The Fourth Period: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1260 on Yakupov.
“They really don’t have a spot for him, long-term,” McKenzie said. “He’s part of the surplus that (Oilers GM) Peter Chiarelli is going to need to move to try and improve other areas.”
Before the trade deadline, TFP reported that the Canadiens and Jets were two of the teams interested in Yakupov
Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie on TSN 690 on Nail Yakupov and his trade request.
“Well, to a degree, yes. Although any deal that doesn’t happen at the deadline doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen at the draft. Deadline deals are often times really in the here and now. Somebody who trades for Nail Yakupov understands that the player they’re getting right now isn’t a fully-formed player, that they’re trading for potential and a lower-case reclamation project for a guy – a No. 1 overall pick – who hasn’t been as good as maybe we thought he was going to be. So just because it didn’t happen at the deadline doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen.
“That said, to your point, I do wonder a little bit if Nail Yakupov would be the centerpiece of any trade. That he might be a complementary piece in a package deal, as opposed to a one-off. But the one-off is not necessarily out of the question.”