Nail Yakupov and the St. Louis Blues said some interesting things about how he might fit with his new team, but let’s skip to the fun stuff first.
Specifically, let’s consider the potential bulletin board material that promotes the Blues while downgrading the Edmonton Oilers. Again, the fun stuff.
“This is first time I’ve played on really, really good team,” Yakupov said, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think it’s awesome, I don’t know what winning is.”
That last part line? Yeah, that’s magnificent, especially if the Blues take on the Edmonton Oilers in a 2017 postseason series.
(Aside: that grumbling you might have heard likely came from members of the Sarnia Sting. Not cool, Yak.)
Beyond that talk, it was pretty typical post-trade-spin, even if those assessments may some day ring true:
“He’s got the skill to compliment our group, and the game is trending to younger and faster players,” GM Doug Armstrong noted.
Want more? The Blues shared Yakupov’s full conference call:
