Yakupov easy. He's the best player in this draft and we could use the depth after the Hall - RNH - Eberle line. Trading away 1st overalls is a bad idea, imo. Just take the kid and we have a top notch top 6 in the works.
Our D will be fine with Smid, Petry, Whitney, Schultz, possibly J Schultz, and Klefbom, Marincin, Tuebert, Gernat, Musil etc in the wings. Hell Dubbie may even be enough in net. We'd have the firepower to bail him out on those nights where he bleeds softies, and he can get super hot for stretches as well. So long as he can play well enough to not cost us a playoff spot and can heat up under pressure(two big ifs), of course. We may have a fairly complete team in a few years even if we don't change much.
But yeah, about the pick, just take Nail. We don't regret taking Hall or RNH, we won't regret taking Yakupov either.
Our D is the farthest thing from "fine".
I'm all for signing taking Yakupov and signing Schultz, but we have to pray that at least one of those guys emerges as a legit top-pairing blueliner, we will not be a solid team.
I'm all for signing taking Yakupov and signing Schultz, but we have to pray that at least one of those guys emerges as a legit top-pairing blueliner, we will not be a solid team.
Exactly.
Anyone that thinks the defence is fine must be related to Tambo.
Maybe Barker will get him game together and be that #2 dman that Management thought he would be.
I wonder if this changes things for Paajarvi going forward. Another year in the AHL or maybe a trade...
This will almost certainly affect Hemsky or Paajarvi. Yakupov is a RW but i believe that he plays the left side also.
Hemsky and Eberle are natural RW's, Hall is a natural LW and Paajarvi can play both sides but with Yakupov likely being here next season, there will be an odd man out.
The problem is that Paajarvi and Hemsky's trade values are at an all time low so Tambo has a bit of a conundrum on his hands.
I just hope that he doesn't trade the pick especially for a trade down since there is a clear separation between Yak and the rest.
Yeah I'm thinking about that too but IMO his bat-out-of-hell style fits best as a winger. Ideally you get a bigger centre for the second line and a power forward.
PWF-RNH-Eberle
Hall-Big2C-Yakupov
If you look at the Oilers' top six right now, size is a way bigger issue than it was before.
No question we keep the 1st pick and get yakupov. The thing we need to find out is which one of Hemsky/Eberle/Yakupov can play left wing? I think the oilers are definitely looking good to UFA's as well so hopefully we can pick up a dman or if not we can package a few players and try getting someone that way.
Only thing we have to worry about now is will these guys sign cap friendly deals to keep this core together.
Exactly.
Anyone that thinks the defence is fine must be related to Tambo.
Yeah, no kidding. The D obviously needs upgrading but as i mentioned in the other thread, getting a talent like Yakupov in addition to the Big 3 has to be a big selling point for the Oilers i would think.
I'm all for signing taking Yakupov and signing Schultz, but we have to pray that at least one of those guys emerges as a legit top-pairing blueliner, we will not be a solid team.
Smid - Petry pairing is a legit top pairing IMO. They are not offensive players but are pretty good defensively.
Whitney is the wild card. If he can get to his pre-injury self then we are fine.
Justin Schultz would be a solid addition if it happens. If not then we may have a gem in Fedun going forward.
Our D (aside from Peckham) is a lot better then what we have had in the past. Staios\MAB etc
Neeeeeeeed some puck moving defencemen to get them the puck off the rush or it's all for naught.
The kids didn't have too many problems scoring this last year. The problem is and always has been our vets. Now we could have so much talent upfront that it's basically irrelevant.
As RNH gets more and more bulk on his frame look out.
Smid - Petry pairing is a legit top pairing IMO. They are not offensive players but are pretty good defensively.
Whitney is the wild card. If he can get to his pre-injury self then we are fine.
Justin Schultz would be a solid addition if it happens. If not then we may have a gem in Fedun going forward.
Our D (aside from Peckham) is a lot better then what we have had in the past. Staios\MAB etc
Both of those guys can complement a top defenceman on the top pair (like Seidenberg with Chara) but are in no way a top pair on a contending team.
Yakupov is considerably more physical than RNH-Eberle-even Hall though.
We are going to have to find a bigger no.2 center at some point though. Even someone Stoll-like would fit the bill (but younger obviously).
What about swapping Gagner for Burmistrov? Get Yak a young Russian to develop with. Burmistrov isn't a monster by any means, but at 6'1 180 he plays a bit like Datsyuk. Very shifty, good at knocking pucks out of the air. Had 118 hits in 76 games. Offence hasn't developed like some may have hoped, but playing with Yak could turn that around. Might have to add on our side.
