Report: Oilers' Yakupov asked to be traded before deadline
Edmonton Oilers forward Nail Yakupov has long been the subject of trade rumors, as he has struggled to live up to the billing as a No. 1 overall draft selection.
It appears not only hockey fans feel a change of scenery would be best for the 22-year-old, as Igor Eronko of Russian news outlet Sport-Express tweeted Sunday that Yakupov requested a trade before the Feb. 29 deadline and garnered significant interest from around the league, but "something went wrong."
Nail Yakupov: 'I asked a trade and #Oilers gave a permission to speak to other teams, about 8 of them were interested, but smth went wrong'
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) March 27, 2016
The quote was translated from a Russian interview with Igor Rabiner, also of Sport-Express. Within the interview, it "seems plain" Yakupov has no interest in returning to the KHL, notes Jonathan Willis of the Edmonton Journal.
New Jersey & Carolina were both specifically mentioned in that Russian Yakupov article. Exactly the kind of teams that should roll the dice.
— Jonathan Willis (@JonathanWillis) March 27, 2016
After recording 10 points in 12 games in October, Yakupov has just nine points in 44 games since.