Dreger on Yakupov's perceived trade value, Canadiens' level of interest

Darren Dreger was on Montreal’s TSN 690 on Thursday morning.

On what the word on the street it when it comes to the evaluation of Nail Yakupov, and what a team would need to acquire him:

"Well, it’s still pretty sketchy. Some of the work ethic concerns that maybe teams had from the outside I think have vastly diminished. The truth is this kid works very hard, particularly off the ice. He wants to learn. He wants to get better. He still has some bad habits that are in his game and maybe he’s not going to develop into the star that the Oilers’ brass thought that he would when they drafted him.

“But I still think at least internally Edmonton sees value, and that’s probably where the separation lies. The value Edmonton sees in Nail Yakupov isn’t the same as what general managers with even limited interest might see in Nail Yakopov.

“So a bit more time, I think, is required if Edmonton wants to trade him, for them to realize any definitive value.

“But there’s still hope in terms of what he might develop into. He just doesn’t appear to be on a path where he’s going to be the player they thought he might be.”

On how one way to ease Alex Galchenyuk’s transition to centre might be to put his junior buddy, Yakupov, on the wing:

“Yeah. Well, again, it’s fodder for good conversation. I don’t honestly – I’m being blunt here. I don’t know that the Montreal Canadiens have any interest in Nail Yakupov. I’d be surprised if they do. But maybe that changes based on how things go tonight. We’ll see.

“From a romantic side of the game, I can see where you’re going with that. And I guess it makes some sense. But as I said earlier, I think if the Oilers were going to move Yakupov, the asking price would still be too high for teams like Montreal or other teams with even limited interest to pay.

“But stranger things have happened. Edmonton could stand pat here, too. Remarkably, they could. Their top priority is goaltending still and a defenseman. I’ve asked about the availability of Boyd Gordon or, say Matt Hendricks – depth guys. They seem to be what’s drawing the most interest these days. The feedback I’m getting from Edmonton is unlikely those players get moved. That sounds to me like unless somebody comes offering a top d-man or offering a good quality goaltender, MacTavish is going to do most of his shopping in the off-season.”

Source: TSN 690/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

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Nichols on Hockey

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