Yakupov to the Coyotes? October 17, 2014, 10:14 AM ET [112 Comments] James Tanner

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Yesterday Eklund reported that the Coyotes and Oilers are in talks involving Nail Yakupov.



To say the least, this is exciting news. The Coyotes, who, insanely, have been using David Moss as a top six forward, could obviously use the infusion of offensive talent and they have some of what the Oilers would obviously want: defense.



More specifically: NHL ready defense.



While Darnell Nurse is a top quality NHL prospect, he does not appear NHL ready. And this isn't a knock against him either, I mean, look how long it took the more talented Victor Hedman to find his game in the NHL. It wasn't that long ago people were calling him a potential bust and now he is one of the NHL's best defensemen.



Just look at Coyotes former first rounder Chris Summers. Now, he's no Hedman, but he was drafted in 2006 and is just now rounding into a decent NHL Dman. Obviously, Nurse is better one day than Summers will ever be, but the point here is that it can take a while.



The Oilers have a decent set of blue-liners, but not a great one. They could use some help and the Coyotes are deep in the position. The rumour is that the Coyotes would send a top pick, a defenseman and a draft pick in exchange for Yakupov.



The defensemen is rumored to be Michalek. This is problematic for a couple of reasons. For one, Michalek is 31. The rest of the package, however, would probably compensate for this. The Oilers probably do not have interest in adding Murhpy, Gormely or Stone to their lineup because as good as they could be, they are very young and inexperienced and that is probably the opposite of what the Oilers would want.



Another caveat about Michalek is that he was not good the last time he left Arizona. He went to Pittsburgh, was a disappointment and didn't regain his game until he came back in the desert. Coinciding with that return was his placement alongside of Ekman-Larsson. If I was the Oilers, I would be concerned about how much of the 31-year-olds value is derived from being paired with the dynamic and gifted OEL.



Also, Michalek is virtually the Coyotes only physical defensive defenseman. Obviously getting Yakupov is a no-brainer, but the Coyotes are a defense first team who would be trading their best defensive-defenseman.



Then again, the Coyotes are a progressive team, in the sense that I believe Tippett is open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Perhaps he is convinced that that in today's NHL the utility of a defense only d-man is not what it once was. Maybe a collection of puck-movers like OEL-Yandle-Murphy-Stone-Gormely can overcome the lack of a traditional defense first guy.



Then there is the powerplay: OEL and Yandle already make up the best 1-2 punch in the NHL. Hanzel is 6'8 and virtually unstoppable at creating havoc in front of the net. Add in the Yakukpov one-timer, and you have a power-play that will compete with Pittsburgh and Tampa.



The fact is, acquiring Yakupov is a no-brainer. The former first-overall pick is like a mini-Ovechkin. He hits, he skates, he shoots. Now, he will never be Ovechkin, but if he can be anywhere close, the Coyotes have to explore this deal to it's full potential.



Even if the cost is Michalek, a first rounder and Max Domi, the Coyotes would have to go through with it. Yes, the cost is high, because Yakupov this year might not be enough to get the Coyotes into the playoffs, and the pick could potentially be disastrous to give away, and it isn't outside the relm of possibility that somehow Domi ends up being the superior player to Yakupov long-tern, (however unlikely) but it's a risk/reward I would be comfortable with.



Now let's say the Oilers wanted Yandle instead. I would still do this for Yakupov, but instead of Domi and a first, I would only pay Samuelsson and a second. Personally, I prefer the first package because I have come to believe hanging onto Yandle is preferable to trading him.



My thoughts are, if there is any truth to this rumour - and their is usually at least some - then the Coyotes should pull out all the stops to make it happen as an elite top level forward prospect is the one thing they are missing.