Linus Omark recalled by Edmonton Oilers: Trouble for Nail Yakupov?

The Edmonton Oilers have recalled high-scoring forward Linus Omark from the AHL, would could signal a few different scenarios for Nail Yakupov and the Oilers in general. Omark has been a successful point producer at every level. He took his demotion to start the year and used it as motivation. He’s leading the Oklahoma City Barons in scoring and is working the AHL over at a point-per-game clip.

This probably isn’t news to Oilers fans, who have heard all about Omark’s lights-out abilities since he was drafted. He lead the Swiss League in points last season after dominating on a line with Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner and picked up right where he left off in the A this year.

While there’s no doubt that Omark is a strong player, the timing is curious since Edmonton is getting healthy at this point. Taylor Hall hasn’t played in over two weeks, but he’s set to make his return tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sam Gagner missed time earlier in the season with a busted jaw. Ryan Smyth was out with a wonky groin. With these players on the shelf, still Omark toiled in the minors.

Now that Hall, Smyth and Gagner are back and healthy, Edmonton decides to recall Omark.

Could this point to a more “long term” solution for Yakupov and his struggles on the ice? It’s an eerily similar situation to the one that played out with Omark when he first touched down in the NHL. Long on talent and short in defensive desire. Could this signal a week or two worth of scratches for Yakupov?

The team is getting absolutely shelled with the former first-overall selection out on the ice, and he’s doing nothing noticeable in the offensive zone at this point.

Another scenario: could the Oilers be considering a demotion for Yakupov to help him get his confidence back in the AHL? It wouldn’t be the first time a team has used this tactic.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Omark recall effects Edmonton’s forward group moving forward. He puts them at the 13-forward limit, so unless there’s another injury we don’t know about, some guys are going to have to sit for Omark to play.