Elsewhere on this site, Eklund published a rumor that would have the Flyers sending defense prospect Travis Sanheim plus another asset to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for winger Nail Yakupov.
Ek simply passes along to readers whatever he hears, but this particular rumor seems very unlikely to have legs to it. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is not one to take abject gambles, especially ones that would involve trading one of the top three prospects in the system.
Yakupov, the first overall pick of the 2011 NHL Draft, has struggled mightily the last three seasons. He's trending toward a playing future somewhere in between Nikita Filatov and Nikolay Zherdev in his development to date. While, at age 22, he could still come on suddenly, no NHL GM worth his salt would trade major assets to bank on that possibility. Right now, Yakukov is perhaps one more uninspiring season away from being the type of player whose best career option is the KHL. He's eons away from fulfilling the top-line NHL forward upside that was projected for him back in 2011, nor is he enough of a complete player to make an impact in other ways.
Furthermore, the Flyers want to add a winger with a size-and-skill combo to the mix, whereas Yakupov would add another smallish forward. Rather than expending assets to take on Yakupov's $2.5 million cap hit next season and 33-point career season to date, the Flyers might as well re-sign impending Sam Gagner -- who is unlikely to be brought back except as a Plan B or Plan C option -- and get a similar rate of production on the ice from a player who was a good soldier for the club.
If the Flyers were to trade Sanheim plus another asset in a deal involving Yakupov, just about the only deal I could see Hextall conceivably being potentially interested in would be Yakupov and the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft in exchange for Sanheim and the 18th overall pick. However, I doubt the Oilers would be wild about that deal, and I couldn't blame them.
There are teams around the NHL who would be interested in Yakupov. Perhaps even the Flyers might have some interest. However, any interest would be on a "reclamation project" level, and teams don't trade one of their top prospects for reclamation projects -- much less adding sweeteners to the deal to get it done.
As such, I can say with a pretty high degree of confidence, that unless this particular rumored trade negotion is a fragmented picture of something larger -- and more enticing to the Flyers -- it simply isn't going to happen. The Flyers at least want to see first how Sanheim adapts to the pro game (most likely starting out in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms) and aren't going to feel comfortable with a move involving him until they get at least of inkling of what they actually have in the player.
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