Nail Yakupov For Evander Kane?

Hey, should the Oilers trade Nail Yakupov for Evander Kane?

Hey, should I take this screwdriver, shove it up my nose to the hilt then swirl it around a bunch?

That is my initial reaction to the suggestion that the Oilers trade Yakupov for Kane. I recognize that based on the word of TSN heavy hitters like Dreger the Jets are about to make a potentially terrible move by giving up on Kane way too early in his career, but if you fail to see irony in trying to capitalize on someone else’s mistake by making the EXACT SAME MISTAKE then there’s simply no hope for you.

Evander Kane is a shot producing machine and has loads of talent, not to mention he’s a solid 6’2… plus he’s more physical than the other Oiler forwards. So why not make the deal? Because it’s making the same mistake that Winnipeg seems poised to make. Evander Kane is going to be a very good player one day. So will Nail Yakupov. If you’re frothing at the mouth to trade away a recent 1st Overall pick because he had an off year with a new Head Coach that tried to change his entire style of play then pull yourself together. You’re embarrassing us.

I’ll tell you what Evander Kane isn’t. He isn’t a top flight Defenseman. He isn’t a Centerman. He wont be playing on the top line for the Oilers. And he wont be getting much more sugar time on the PP in Edmonton than he did in Winnipeg. Simply put, he isn’t the answer to the Oilers’ problem.

And for that matter, neither is Nail Yakupov the problem with the Oilers. Unquestionably the team needs him to produce, but that is going to come and there is absolutely no reason to believe it wont. There were a lot of 2nd year kids who hit the skids last season but I don’t think fans and media are suggesting Florida should trade Huberdeau for Kane.

By every account it seems that Yakupov’s name is left out of Edmonton’s “Core… group but that changes in a heartbeat the second he shows he can produce with the rest of the kids. The problem is that he might not get the chance to do that in Edmonton because the pressure to “do something… is reaching critical levels and the Oilers could be ready to do something as equally stupid as Winnipeg trading Evander Kane. Now the good news is that on an interview with Bob Stauffer MacT very recently said that his “Core… is potentially bigger than what most people are guessing but he refused to say who was a part of it. Hopefully that suggests he isn’t about to move Yak, but we can only guess.

We’re starting to get in to silly season right now with the Draft so close. Names are popping up left, right, and center. There’s no question that MacT has the assets to change the look of his franchise with the 3rd Overall pick, Yakupov, Perron, or Gagner, not to mention the stable of young defensemen in the organization. You have to think though that the Oilers are looking to strengthen themselves down the middle of the ice starting from the blueline out.

Should the Oilers trade Yak for Kane? Why would they?

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