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Report: Nail Yakupov interested in signing with the Canucks

Former first overall pick Nail Yakupov did not receive a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Blues and is now an unrestricted free agent.
Nail Yakupov

Former first overall pick Nail Yakupov did not receive a qualifying offer from the St. Louis Blues and is now an unrestricted free agent. The once highly-touted and exciting Yakupov has fallen on hard times as of late, scoring just 9 points in 40 games for the Blues last season.

News 1130’s Rick Dhaliwal diligently worked the phones with NHL agents on Monday and got word from Yakupov’s agent, former Canuck Igor Larionov, that the young Russian is interested in signing with the Canucks.

At this point, Yakupov should be interested in signing with anyone and everyone. If Larionov hustles, there should be matching headlines to this one in cities across North America: "Nail Yakupov is interested in signing with [insert team name]."

It’s unclear just how much interest there is around the league in Yakupov, but it’s hard to shake the label of “bust” when you’re a first overall pick that has crashed as hard as he has. To go from the heights of his rookie season, when he scored 17 goals and 31 points in just 48 games, to barely managing 3 goals and getting scratched for the entire postseason is stunning. That kind of crash will scare off a lot of teams.

So, should the Canucks be interested in Yakupov?

Yes.

Of course.

Why wouldn't the Canucks be interested in Yakupov. The Canucks were offensively anemic last season, incapable of mounting any consistent offensive pressure and finishing with a franchise low in goals per game. The Canucks should be interested in almost any young scoring forward, particularly a 23-year-old first overall pick.

That’s the thing: Yakupov is still just 23. I don’t care that he only scored 9 points last season, he’s got all sorts of skill and he’s just coming into what should be the prime of his career. If the Canucks could find some way to get his confidence back and unleash his offensive creativity, he could still be a dynamic top-six forward.

At the very least, he could provide a new wrinkle to the Canucks’ execrable power play. Yakupov is hit or miss 5-on-5 thanks to some questionable defensive play, but he brings a superb shot to the power play, making him a dangerous offensive weapon with the man advantage. The Blues didn’t use him on the power play at all, but it’s not like the Canucks are bursting at the seams with power play specialists.

Maybe I’m hopelessly optimistic, but I see next to no downside to signing Yakupov to a short-term contract. It’s not like he’ll make the team any worse than they were last season. And there’s a good chance that he could make them better.

Yakupov is coming off a contract with a cap hit of $2.5 million. If the Canucks can get him for closer to his entry-level deal of $925,000, there’s limited risk to giving Yakupov a chance in Vancouver, with the potential for a high reward.