EDMONTON, AB – MARCH 18: Nail Yakupov #10 of the Edmonton Oilers stretches during a break in play against the Vancouver Canucks on March 18, 2016 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)

Nail Yakupov asked for a trade from the Oilers earlier this year

Reports have surfaced that Nail Yakupov requested a trade from the Oilers earlier this season. This info came courtesy of Igor Eronko, who writes for Sport-Express of Russia.

Yakupov, the former first overall pick is the poster boy of all the Oilers woes. He has produced at an okay clip, but has not progressed as they had expected. The Oilers rebuild is in its millionth iteration and because of it things have become rather tense. Expectations have continue to rise in Alberta and nothing has come to fruition. The thought was that when Todd McLellan was brought in, that he would bring a sense of credibility to the team. So far in his first year it is more of the same. McLellan won’t be fired, but the team is going to need to take a deeper look at the structure of the organization because things are not working.

What does one do when an organization is in this big of disrepair? I guess one of the steps may be starting to trade valuable assets (ie. Yakupov) for players that can make a tangible impact in the short term. I don’t pretend to know where the Oilers are going to go from here but I do know the only way they can go is up. Trading a player like him may be a step in the right direction.

About Sam Blazer

Sam is a self proclaimed chess prodigy. He once placed seventh in the state of Ohio in Chess when he was in kindergarten. He will rarely if ever mention though that only eight people were entered in this tournament. Contact him at sblaze17@gmail.com

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