Tell us how you really feel Oleg Znarok.
The Russian head coach led his squad to a bronze medal at the World Championships, but just because he was celebrating didn’t mean he couldn’t get a shot in at Edmonton Oilers forward Nail Yakupov. Slava Malamud reports Znarok said Yakupov’s absence at the tournament was “addition by subtraction.”
Malamud further speculated that when Znarok coaches Russia at the World Cup, Yakupov won’t be involved.
Znarok will coach Russia in the World Cup, per Tretiak, which means Yakupov won't be too tired going into the #Oilers season.
— Slava Malamud 🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@SlavaMalamud) May 22, 2016
The situation isn’t too surprising since Yakupov had previously been in a dispute about whether he was healthy enough for the Worlds. Yakupov said he was fine to play, but Russian coaches kept him off the squad due to injury concerns. Here’s what Malamud reported in mid-May.
“Yakupov involved in public war of words with Russian coach. Says stated reason for dropping him from worlds (injury) is bogus…Russian coach says Yakupov had multiple injuries. Adds that Yak ‘is probably saying this to sign a contract.’ Probably means trade.”
It’s been a rough season for Yakupov. The dispute about his health hurts his stock. Yakupov admitted he asked for a trade from Edmonton earlier this season. Russian coaches taking public shots at him doesn’t help him, even if they’re not warranted. The 22-year-old had a poor season for the Oilers with only 23 points in 60 games – a far cry from the value you’d expect from a first overall pick. Still, it’s a low blow to call him out publicly.
