McKenzie on Eberle-level trade for Oilers, Yakupov's value

Bob McKenzie was on Toronto’s TSN 1050 on Tuesday afternoon.

On fixing the Edmonton Oilers:

“Most of the people in hockey I talk to say that if the Oil want to make an appreciable difference here, they’re going to have to trade a Jordan Eberle. They’re trying to trade David Perron. That’s not enough to make an appreciable difference in what they’re doing. You might be able to - hey, listen, he scored 28 goals, Perron did last year, so you’ve got to get something for him. But if you really want to sort of start to change the look and the feel, then Jordan Eberle would be the guy that maybe – and the problem you run into right now is everybody in the league knows where they are. The only thing people are looking to give Craig MacTavish right now is an anchor, and say, ‘Here you go. You’re in trouble. You need to make a deal.’

“And that’s why – I think he wants to make that big deal. I think in the last 24-48 hours after the Saturday night loss to the Chicago Blackhawks he probably realized, ‘You know what? That’s what I’ve got to do.’ And I think since then, he’s probably gone out and found out, ‘My goodness. I’m not sure I get the return I need right now.’ ”

Related: The Frustration Tracker: NHL Insiders on the Edmonton Oilers

On Nail Yakupov and if any GMs would be willing to take a shot at him, thinking there’s something there:

“That’s a good question. But again, it’s like buy high, sell low. I mean, right now, Yakupov is not a name that if you put it out there where every team in the league is going to come running, saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got to have me some of that.’ Because he just hasn’t developed the way you would expect a first overall pick to develop. That’s not to say that he won’t. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have value. But it’s not exactly – if this is the stock market, you’re selling low.”

Source: TSN 1050/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey