Nail Yakupov recently gave an interview over on Championat.com regarding trade rumors and the sorry state of the Edmonton Oilers. The interview was translated over on The Hockey Writers, and though the interpretation isn’t perfect, it reveals Yakupov’s opinion on his team’s disappointing 2014-15.
Again, the translation isn’t great, but the sentiment remains the same.
When asked about the possibility of being traded, Yakupov said:
“It can happen with any player in any moment. I try not thinking about it. This is why I don’t read, listen or watch anything. I don’t know what’s happening, if they want to trade some players or what. I’m now a part of the team I’m playing for and to which I’m giving all.”
That’s a great answer from a young player. Yakupov understands that trades and other moves are outside of his control and the only thing he can do is play at the best of his ability.
When asked about the Oilers and how poorly things have gone this season, Yakupov said:
“All is going bad. First thing: when you lose some games, there is no positive mood. A negative environment develops in the locker room. But once again, if you pay attention to all this, you get caught in a loop and everything gets even worse. Every day we’re talking with journalists, who always ask who, what and why. But all this means just one thing: more talking and less doing. This means that we should just go and work hard. Regarding other things, those questions aren’t to me. We have a president, a general manager, the coaches who work on these things. It’s not what we, the players, are supposed to do. We have our task: do our job as best we can. But it appears that right now we aren’t doing it the way we should.”
Again, a very positive and politically correct answer from Yakupov. Still, it’s clear that things aren’t working in Edmonton and a change needs to be made. Yakupov mentions the President, GM and coaches and how everyone is working on the situation, but how much longer can the team go without really shaking things up? At what point are major changes made on the ice?
