Who would you go after if you were Chevy and you only have one to choose? Cannot have rights owned by Jets in 2014-2015.

 

For me, the RFA would be Huberdeau.

Not many UFAs worth chasing this year but I think it would be Andrej Meszaros.

 

25m for 6 years for Huberdeau and 15m for 4 years for Meszaros.

I wouldn't say Burmi was mediocre. He had flashes that showed what he could be. He was strong defensively. I'd be happy to have him back. But I understand why he might be traded. Either way something will happen with him and he's now a Jets asset that will benefit the team in some way this year.

The problem with Yakupov is that after 3 years in the NHL, the guy hasn't lived up to the hype of a 1st overall pick.

 

You can sit here and speculate that the problems lay on the shoulders of a coach, and that may be true, only time will tell. But as of today, Yakupov hasn't yet proven he deserved to be taken 1st overall.  So far, you would have to say he is a bust.  It will be interesting to see if that changes.

 

Rumours of locker room issues and bolting to the KHL persist (I'm sure KHL rumours have subsided with the condition that league is in right now).

 

If Edmonton really believes his potential is better then he has shown so far, then they would be foolish to trade him when his value is at his lowest.  His salary is still relatively cheap, so I don't see an upside to them trading him right now, unless someone dangles something special, and I don't know who would do that. I certainly hope it isn't Chevy.

 

No you can clearly see that it was the coach. Rookie year Yakupov led all rookies in goals, tied for the rookie lead in points AND he was the Oilers top goal scorer. More than Hall, more than Eberle, more than anyone on the team. How is that not proving he was a legitimate #1 pick? That was the lockout year, I believe his 82 game prorated goal scoring pace was close to 30 goals. Pretty good for a rookie and #1 overall worthy right? 

 

Then year 2 hits and Dallas Eakins comes in and Yakupov looks like he's never played hockey before. But then Eakins is fired in Yakupovs 3rd year and his play visiibily improves but the points are slow coming as his shot is off and he looks like he lacks some confidence. The points do start to come though and his game looks better and he finishes the year with 20 points in the final 28 games. Not too bad right? 

 

It is plain as ******* day for anyone who cares to look that Dallas Eakins was the only thing holding Yakupov back. He wasn't the only one. RNH, Eberle, Schultz, Petry, they all saw their games turn around hugely after Eakins was fired. The man destroyed the confidence of that team. He was the only cancer in that room and now that they've done an enema of the entire management that hired him and kept him people will start to realize just how spectacularly that held the team back. 

The problem with Yakupov is that after 3 years in the NHL, the guy hasn't lived up to the hype of a 1st overall pick.

You can sit here and speculate that the problems lay on the shoulders of a coach, and that may be true, only time will tell. But as of today, Yakupov hasn't yet proven he deserved to be taken 1st overall. So far, you would have to say he is a bust. It will be interesting to see if that changes.

Rumours of locker room issues and bolting to the KHL persist (I'm sure KHL rumours have subsided with the condition that league is in right now).

If Edmonton really believes his potential is better then he has shown so far, then they would be foolish to trade him when his value is at his lowest. His salary is still relatively cheap, so I don't see an upside to them trading him right now, unless someone dangles something special, and I don't know who would do that. I certainly hope it isn't Chevy.

No you can clearly see that it was the coach. Rookie year Yakupov led all rookies in goals, tied for the rookie lead in points AND he was the Oilers top goal scorer. More than Hall, more than Eberle, more than anyone on the team. How is that not proving he was a legitimate #1 pick? That was the lockout year, I believe his 82 game prorated goal scoring pace was close to 30 goals. Pretty good for a rookie and #1 overall worthy right?

Then year 2 hits and Dallas Eakins comes in and Yakupov looks like he's never played hockey before. But then Eakins is fired in Yakupovs 3rd year and his play visiibily improves but the points are slow coming as his shot is off and he looks like he lacks some confidence. The points do start to come though and his game looks better and he finishes the year with 20 points in the final 28 games. Not too bad right?

It is plain as ******* day for anyone who cares to look that Dallas Eakins was the only thing holding Yakupov back. He wasn't the only one. RNH, Eberle, Schultz, Petry, they all saw their games turn around hugely after Eakins was fired. The man destroyed the confidence of that team. He was the only cancer in that room and now that they've done an enema of the entire management that hired him and kept him people will start to realize just how spectacularly that held the team back.

So you are basically saying he has had one good lockout shortened season and one good 20 game stretch. I'd want more out my first overall pick.

I've seen him play, there is no denying he has a crap load of talent. But for me juries out on whether he has the heart or drive or whatever you want to call it needed to get to that elite status in the NHL. And yes, I expect a first overall pick to show progress year to year to get to that status.

One possibility is that it was the coach. Another possibility is he is a streaky player who only shows up when he is motivated to. I'm not saying you are wrong, just saying he hasn't really proven a whole heck of a lot yet. Your theory on the coach is just that ... a theory. Time will tell if it is proven right or not. You are a scientist, you should understand that.

Doesn't change the point that Edmonton would be foolish to trade him now because they would be selling low.

I am curious though, question for you. If Yakupov is a bust again this year under McLellan, will you put that on the player or will you still blame Eakins for ruining his career?

Yakupov for Burmistrov straight up.. Or we trade Burmistrov because he really is elite and we can tell all other clubs that it was Noels fault for him not excelling.

I think some people undervalue Burmi.  He might not have the fancy scoring stats but he's still only 23 years old right now.  He's another player the Thrashers rushed to the NHL and probably stunted his development.  If Kane is still a top flight talent then so Burmi can't be written off after two seasons here.  He was a plus player.  He was used on special teams.  He had talent.

 

Reports are out that Toronto is interested in him.  I think it was Lawless who alluded to issues in the locker room where Burmi wasnt well liked so that could be the biggest contributor to whether he plays here or is shipped out.  Personally, I think he has more value to the Jets right now then in a trade.  Every team interested will play the KHL card and say he's regressed or has attitude issues and they are doing the Jets a favour in taking him.  If his attitude is right and he's determined to prove himself, a one year deal to play for the Jets could be the best thing for all.  We know Kane wanted out long before he was finally traded.  If Burmi wants out, might Chevy tell him to make it easier on everyone and have a great season here?

 

 

The problem with Yakupov is that after 3 years in the NHL, the guy hasn't lived up to the hype of a 1st overall pick.

You can sit here and speculate that the problems lay on the shoulders of a coach, and that may be true, only time will tell. But as of today, Yakupov hasn't yet proven he deserved to be taken 1st overall. So far, you would have to say he is a bust. It will be interesting to see if that changes.

Rumours of locker room issues and bolting to the KHL persist (I'm sure KHL rumours have subsided with the condition that league is in right now).

If Edmonton really believes his potential is better then he has shown so far, then they would be foolish to trade him when his value is at his lowest. His salary is still relatively cheap, so I don't see an upside to them trading him right now, unless someone dangles something special, and I don't know who would do that. I certainly hope it isn't Chevy.

No you can clearly see that it was the coach. Rookie year Yakupov led all rookies in goals, tied for the rookie lead in points AND he was the Oilers top goal scorer. More than Hall, more than Eberle, more than anyone on the team. How is that not proving he was a legitimate #1 pick? That was the lockout year, I believe his 82 game prorated goal scoring pace was close to 30 goals. Pretty good for a rookie and #1 overall worthy right?

Then year 2 hits and Dallas Eakins comes in and Yakupov looks like he's never played hockey before. But then Eakins is fired in Yakupovs 3rd year and his play visiibily improves but the points are slow coming as his shot is off and he looks like he lacks some confidence. The points do start to come though and his game looks better and he finishes the year with 20 points in the final 28 games. Not too bad right?

It is plain as ******* day for anyone who cares to look that Dallas Eakins was the only thing holding Yakupov back. He wasn't the only one. RNH, Eberle, Schultz, Petry, they all saw their games turn around hugely after Eakins was fired. The man destroyed the confidence of that team. He was the only cancer in that room and now that they've done an enema of the entire management that hired him and kept him people will start to realize just how spectacularly that held the team back.

So you are basically saying he has had one good lockout shortened season and one good 20 game stretch. I'd want more out my first overall pick.

I've seen him play, there is no denying he has a crap load of talent. But for me juries out on whether he has the heart or drive or whatever you want to call it needed to get to that elite status in the NHL. And yes, I expect a first overall pick to show progress year to year to get to that status.

One possibility is that it was the coach. Another possibility is he is a streaky player who only shows up when he is motivated to. I'm not saying you are wrong, just saying he hasn't really proven a whole heck of a lot yet. Your theory on the coach is just that ... a theory. Time will tell if it is proven right or not. You are a scientist, you should understand that.

Doesn't change the point that Edmonton would be foolish to trade him now because they would be selling low.

I am curious though, question for you. If Yakupov is a bust again this year under McLellan, will you put that on the player or will you still blame Eakins for ruining his career?

 

I'm sorry but if you think the 2nd then you really haven't seen him play enough and don't know a thing about the player. He is one of the hardest workers on that OIlers team. The point here, is that he looked like a first overall pick under Ralph Kreuger and Todd Nelson and looked like someone who was just picking up the game of hockey under Dallas Eakins. It's obvious what the problem here was because proven scorers like Jordan Eberle looked like crap under Eakins too. Did you know that Eakins would bench Yakupov if he had a good first 2 periods because he wanted Yakupovs game to end on a positive note? How on earth can you sit there and say it was anything but the ******** coaching of Eakins? Bottles the mind that people are willing to excuse the worst coaching I have ever seen because Russian. 

Yak can score but like lots of oilers can't play D. That's the biggest issue there. Most are very talent in the o zone but in their own zone not so much

Yakupov was pretty ordinary in his rookie season, except for an approx. three week long hot streak at the end of the season.

 

Calling him one of the most underrated players in the league is nonsense. He might be a great player, but he hasn't shown it yet. He's certainly not a write-off yet though.

I call him under rated because of all the talk like the above questioning things about the player that aren't even questionable. Great attitude, great work ethic, great drive and passion. 

 

 

Oilers forwards are better at D than people think as well, the biggest problem in the Oilers defensive zone is a group of defencemen that was not good at actually getting the puck out of the zone. Leads to more time spent in the defensive zone and more potential for someone to get beaten. Give the Oilers a capable puck moving defence and the opinion of the forwards defensive play will change, much like Calgary. The young forwards in Calgary ain't all that defensive either, but between Giordano and Brodie and Russel and Wideman they can get the puck moving in the right direction. 

So Yakupov has to be in the perfect situation with a team in order for him to show his true skills?

So Yakupov has to be in the perfect situation with a team in order for him to show his true skills?

No just not under Dallas Eakins. It is abundantly clear that a lot of people don't really appreciate the turn around that team had after Eakins was fired and how far they fell off when he was hired. Kreuger and Nelson aren't even the cream of the crop in terms of head coaches either. 

 

Eakins will go down in history as one of the worst coaches of all time. It is criminal that he was allowed to ruin the players on that team for as long as he did.

 

Eakins wasn't just a bad coach, he was an all time bad cancerous coach. 

Just curious. If the oilers are awful this season will it be the coach or maybe the players fault? They haven't been good in a long time. Always picking top 6. More like top well first overall really. Will it be the coaches fault again?

Just curious. If the oilers are awful this season will it be the coach or maybe the players fault? They haven't been good in a long time. Always picking top 6. More like top well first overall really. Will it be the coaches fault again?

 

 

see this is the ignorance that I'm talking about. Here's how it went down, They were bad the year they got Hall, last in the league by a metric **** ton of points. The next year when they drafted RNH they were still last in the league but only by a few points. Then the following year they were 2nd last in the league, they won the lottery and got Yakupov. The year after that they drafted 7th overall. That was the lock out year with Ralph Kreuger and at the trade deadline they were actually in 8th spot before falling off the pace at the end of the year. Then you get Dallas Eakins. Prior to Eakins they were improving their points, climbing up the standings. Slowly yes but progress was being made. Goals for were going up, goals against were going down. Eakins first year their goals against and goals for were back to the levels they were at when they were finishing last in the league. All this while appearing to have a better roster to work with on paper. So you had a team showing progress before Eakins and then a team going backwards after Eakins was hired.... Eakins gets fired and    the Oilers are playing at roughly a .500 pace until they traded Petry and had a couple other veteran D get hurt and they had to use an AHL defence and the pace fell off a bit. 

 

Now look at that and tell me that Eakins wasn't a ******* huge problem. No one is claiming the Oilers were a playoff team with a different coach, only that Eakins halted the progress being made and reversed it while making players look worse than they had in the past. The best comparison and I know it's one that Bomber fans can understand, is that it's like the difference between Tim Burke and Mike O'Shea. Except Eakins was far worse than Burke. 

You want puck moving D men?

Buff, Enstrom, Pavelec, and a 2nd rounder in next year's draft for Hall and Eberle.

Let's get er dun!

 

The great Yak can pick up the slack and you will still have RNH, McD, Draisaitl, Nurse, etc...

Ignorance? Lol more like reality. 2010 2011 2012 1st overall. Lockout shortened 2013 7th. 2014 3rd. 2015 1st.

4 number 1 picks in 6 years. All 6 years in the top 7. Ya just the coach.

Not gonna argue with oiler fans who think they are close when reality is they suck big time. Ignorance? Lol.

Ignorance? Lol more like reality. 2010 2011 2012 1st overall. Lockout shortened 2013 7th. 2014 3rd. 2015 1st.

4 number 1 picks in 6 years. All 6 years in the top 7. Ya just the coach.

Not gonna argue with oiler fans who think they are close when reality is they suck big time. Ignorance? Lol.

4 #1 picks but 2 of them were lottery wins.  and again, no one is saying close, only that they were better than they showed under Eakins, which is a pretty ******* low bar to set. 

Any way you slice it there is no excuse for being that bad for that long with those pics. It shows you that talent isn't everything. It's having the right talent in the right positions. It's about building a team not just choosing the consensus number one every year.

I have little doubt the oilers will make drastic improvements one day.

First overall can bring back a massive return. The 2012 first overall pick should have been traded for good roster players.

Any way you slice it there is no excuse for being that bad for that long with those pics. It shows you that talent isn't everything. It's having the right talent in the right positions. It's about building a team not just choosing the consensus number one every year.

I have little doubt the oilers will make drastic improvements one day.

The team was making progress before Eakins was hired, why is this such a hard concept to grasp? It was getting better but Tambellini sat on his hands and didn't make moves to improve the roster. he was fired because he refused to make a move to even try and improve. McTavish at least did make some moves to improve the roster, unfortunately he bungled the coaching hire in a way that was so bad it set the team back. When building through the draft the key is to show progress and that was happening until Dallas Eakins showed up. Jets fans should understand how slow the process is, and that's if you have the correct people in place. 

 

I just grow tired of reading all the bullshit that gets thrown around from people who don't take the time or effort to look at the situation that team was and is in and just assume it must be because the players they drafted aren't that good. 

Blaming Eakins for the crap ED is is kinda like a guy slapping lipstick on a pig then blaming that guy cuz its still a pig.

Blaming Eakins for the crap ED is is kinda like a guy slapping lipstick on a pig then blaming that guy cuz its still a pig.

What's so hard to understand that a young team was improving until Eakins showed up and then they started regressing? It not only makes the record worse but it lowers the trade value of players you do have and you wind up giving away solid top 4 defencemen like Jeff Petry for a bloody 2nd round pick while tools like Franson are getting first round picks back. Eakins was the worst thing to happen to Edmonton since Gretzky was traded. 

They trade one of their young first round forwards for help on D and/or goal. They aren't going to wait another season.

The Big Show guys were discussing a Dreger report that the Jets are working to lock up both Ladd & Buff.

 

Interesting...

The Big Show guys were discussing a Dreger report that the Jets are working to lock up both Ladd & Buff.

 

Interesting...

 

Not sure why that is news now since Chevy said it in his press conference after the Jets were eliminated. 

 

The Big Show guys were discussing a Dreger report that the Jets are working to lock up both Ladd & Buff.

 

Interesting...

 

Not sure why that is news now since Chevy said it in his press conference after the Jets were eliminated. 

 

I suspect is news if Dreger just reported it.  Presumably he reported it for a reason.