Colorado Avalanche sign Nail Yakupov

Coming off a bad season, the Colorado Avalanche have taken a flier on former No. 1 overall pick Nail Yakupov.

The Colorado Avalanche were clearly the worst team in the NHL last season, with a league-low 48 points that was 21 points clear of the second-worst team (the Vancouver Canucks). In hindsight, former head coach Patrick Roy looks smart for abruptly leaving the team last August.

After being drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2012, Nail Yakupov had 31 points (17 goals and 14 assists) in a lockout-abbreviated rookie season. But he regressed in the subsequent three seasons, totaling 80 points (33 goals, 47 assists) over 204 games with a cumulative plus/minus of -84.

Yakupov was traded to the St. Louis Blues before last season, but he played just 40 regular season games and tallied nine points (three goals, six assists). So it was not surprising the Blues did not extend him a qualifying offer, and Yakupov then became an unrestricted free agent.

There was some speculation Yakupov could return home to play in Russia, his home country. But he remained committed to playing in the NHL next season, and a deal to stay in North America has come.

Yakupov is still just 23 years old, and a one-year, $875,000 deal is a worthy flier for the Avalanche as they try to find young talent. He should slot in right away as the right winger on Colorado’s third line, with a possible reshuffling if center Matt Duchene and left winger Gabriel Landeskog are traded at some point between now and next season’s trade deadline.

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Yakupov will probably never live up to his status as a No. 1 overall pick, but he has a nice opportunity in front of him with the Avalanche. Even with a 15-20 goal campaign on a third line, he can establish some value on the open market ahead of another crack at free agency in 2018.