Mike Babcock came away from Saturday night impressed, and he didn’t stop at Shakir Mukhamadullin’s performance. He also tipped his cap to Stan Bowman for pulling off a trade plenty of people figured Edmonton would never win.
The deal sent Darnell Nurse to the San Jose Sharks and brought Zack Sharp and Mukhamadullin back to Edmonton. After Saturday’s showing, Mukhamadullin looks like he may have done enough to carve out a spot, with Spencer Stastney and Ty Emberson also in the mix.
“I liked him. He was big, he’s long, and what I like about his game tonight..
I’ve seen him in the past, watched him on video and he tried to be cute. He wasn’t cute tonight.
He just made the right play over and over and over again. And every time he’s out there, he’s still 6’5″, which is kinda nice.”
Babcock made it clear this is still early, but he also said the signs are encouraging. Mukhamadullin hasn’t locked anything down with one preseason game, yet the coach sounded genuinely optimistic about what the defender can become in Edmonton.
“I’ve talked to him tons, just about his game. You know, I’m not big into walking back, it’s more about what’s going ahead.
I think a lot of times, in the NHL, if you’re a star, it doesn’t affect you, but if you’re regular people, you start in one place and then you really take off in your next spot. Probably because you’ve learned a lot where you were, but you get mad and you don’t think they’re treating you as good, and all that stuff.
You go to the next spot and get a fresh start. So that’s what we’re hoping for him.
He’s a big man, he can skate and really pass the puck. We could be real fortunate; Stan could have made a hell of a deal there.”
That last line says plenty. Bowman didn’t just move the full cap hit of Nurse, he also landed a player who could help the Oilers this season. Few around the league thought Edmonton would be able to trade Nurse and his salary at all, let alone come away with a piece that looks useful.
If Mukhamadullin turns out to be anywhere close to the player Babcock believes he can be, the Oilers may have done more than solve a contract problem. They may have landed a legitimate contributor at a bargain rate, with Mukhamadullin’s two-year extension carrying a $1.75 million annual cap hit - about 19% of Nurse’s salary.
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