Edmonton Oilers F Nail Yakupov Traded to St. Louis Blues
Edmonton Oilers F Nail Yakupov Has Been Traded to the St. Louis Blues in Exchange for Zach Pochiro and a Conditional Draft Pick
Announced late Friday, Edmonton Oilers F Nail Yakupov has been traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Zach Pochiro and a 2018 conditional draft pick. The conditional pick is currently a third rounder, but could turn into a second round pick if Yakupov exceeds 15 goals.
The trade comes just days after reports broke that Chicago had shown interest in Edmonton Oilers F Nail Yakupov. We knew the Blackhawks couldn’t make the money work, but you can bet GM Peter Chiarelli took a few extra phone calls after the rumors broke.
Nail Yakupov
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Yakupov, 23, was selected 1st overall back in 2012 in a notoriously weak draft that included the likes of Alex Galchenyuk, Morgan Rielly, Mathew Dumba, Jacob Trouba, and Filip Forsberg.
Edmonton Oilers F Nail Yakupov has appeared in 252 career NHL games over four seasons, racking up 50 goals, 61 assists (111 points) over that span. Perhaps the most glaring statistic after four seasons, a whopping -92 plus/minus rating.
Zach Pochiro
Pochiro, 22, is a right-handed center standing 6’2 170lbs born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was selected 112th overall (4th round) back in 2013 from WHL’s Prince George Cougars. After wrapping up his junior career following the 2014-15 season, he joined ECHL Alaska for their final eight games. He stepped into his first full year of pro hockey in 2015-16 playing for ECHL Quad City (26 points in 44 games). He also appeared in one game for AHL Chicago.
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Trade Reaction
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Okay, so one bad trade you can get away with. They had a decent excuse to address a major need on the blue line. There’s no explaining this one, though.
It’s nothing more than giving up on a player and taking a whole lot less than any GM should be willing to accept for a former 1st overall pick – regardless of how bad the draft was..
I wish I could say this is surprising, but it’s not. Peter Chiarelli made the same boneheaded decisions in Boston which eventually cost him his job. He doesn’t even get credit for being the architect of the Bruins Stanley Cup Victory – most of those pieces were in place when he arrived. This is the same guy that traded Tyler Seguin away for virtually nothing.
Why Peter Chiarelli wasn’t calling Anaheim about Josh Manson, or the New York Islanders about Calvin de Haan or Thomas Hickey is the question fans should be asking. Because both of those teams stand to lose quality defenseman for absolutely nothing in expansion. There are enough vulnerable teams out there set to lose quality players if they don’t make a trade.
Chalk this up as another bad call by management.
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