EDMONTON – It took several months, a coaching change and the acquisition of Derek Roy, but Edmonton Oilers forward Nail Yakupov finished the season with enough flourish to earn a two-year, $5-million contract extension.
The winger, who finished with a career-high 33 points and a league-high minus-35, was set to become a restricted free agent.
“The last half year was really good. (Interim head coach Todd Nelson) gave me a second life,” Yakupov had said on Sunday as the team packed up their belongings and headed into another off-season.
“I was really enjoying playing and practicing and being around the hockey rink.”
Twenty-one of 33 points Yakupov put up were registered after the all-star break.
“The more he learns and the (better) he gets, he’s going to be a dynamic player in the NHL. I believe that. That’s why I’ve just tried to help him as much as I could,” said Roy, who centred Yakupov after he was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators.
Yakupov, the first pick overall in the 2012 draft, has been invited to Russia’s camp that will lead into the world championships.
That core group includes forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall and arguably defenceman Justin Schultz.
