The Edmonton Oilers have traded disappointing former first overall draft pick Nail Yakupov to the St. Louis Blues for a prospect and conditional draft pick, the teams announced Friday evening.
It marks the second time in just more than three months that the Oilers have traded a former first overall draft pick. On June 30, they dealt Taylor Hall, the first overall pick in 2010, to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson.
The return for Yakupov, the first pick in 2012, was significantly lower and illustrates just how far his stock has fallen since he was drafted.
The Oilers will receive Zach Pochiro and a third-round pick in 2017. That pick will become a second-round pick in 2018 if Yakupov scores 15 goals or more during the coming season.
Pochiro is a center who was drafted in the fourth round, 112th overall, in 2013. He is 22 years old and played in the ECHL last season. He has not played in an NHL game.
Yakupov, 23, has scored 50 goals in 252 NHL games and has never scored more than 17 in a single season. He scored 17 in his rookie season with the Oilers during the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign. He had just eight goals last season and had been rumored to be on the trade block for months.
The Oilers retained none of Yakupov's salary in the deal, a source told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.
Edmonton also finalized a one-year contract with unrestricted free-agent defenseman Kris Russell. The new deal between the Oilers and Russell is worth $3.1 million, a source told LeBrun. Russell has remained on the market all summer despite being a top-four defenseman.
In 573 games in the NHL, Russell has scored 177 points playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars.
Russell, 29, led the League in 2014-15 with 283 blocked shots.
