Colorado Avalanche Sign Nail Yakupov to a 1-year deal

The Colorado Avalanche have just announced that they have signed former first overall pick Nail Yakupov.

According to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post, the deal is for one year and $875k.

At this point, taking a risk on a player with as much raw skill as Yakupov is a great move for Joe Sakic and the Avs.

“Nail is a young, skilled winger who will add depth to our lineup,” said Avalanche executive general manager Joe Sakic in a release. “We look forward to seeing him at training camp.”

Yakupov struggled to find his footing in four seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, scoring a career high 17 goals his rookie season before tapering off in subsequent years. He was dealt to the St. Louis Blues for Zach Pochiro and a conditional third-round pick in June’s amateur draft that could have turned into a second in 2018 had he managed 15 goals.

In short, he didn’t.

The 23-year-old managed just nine points in 40 games for the Blues, which was likely much more disappointing than either side could have imagined. The Avalanche will now attempt to resurrect his once-promising career.

This seems like a no-risk move with the potential for a lot of up-side. What do you think about the move?