Disagreements over ice time and a mysterious injury list conflict sparked Shakir Mukhamadullin’s exit from San Jose. Now, Edmonton aims to unlock the mobile defenseman’s full offensive potential.
Shakir Mukhamadullin's final season in San Jose was messier than most people realized. He's an Edmonton Oiler now, and he's happy to be one. He also called San Jose a second home. But in a new interview with Sport-Express, the 24-year-old defenseman revealed real friction on his way out of that organization.
Mukhamadullin admitted that he had issues with the Sharks' coaching staff. Much of it centered around limited ice time (just 17:09 a night when he played), and being a frequent healthy scratch. However, he specifically pointed to an "injured list situation" that he said he'd rather not detail.
“In the games I did play, I thought I played well,” he said. “There was some misunderstanding with the coaching staff. I won’t spell it out clearly, but there were some disagreements.” He noted, “There was also one thing nobody knows about, a situation involving the injured list. I don’t really want to talk about it now either, but it wasn’t a great look.”
At this point, he knew his run with the Sharks was over. He said the team tried twice to extend him on a new contract, but he declined both times. Ultimately, the Sharks traded him — along with prospect Zack Sharp — to Edmonton for Darnell Nurse on July 1.
That frustration is exactly why this trade could work out for the Oilers.
"In my case, there wasn’t as much freedom to improvise. I just did what I was told, robot mode, doing everything for the team. They put a huge emphasis on defense … So, I think the player who left Russia and the player I am now are two completely different hockey players." The Oilers will still want him to be responsible, but it's a good bet they'll try to encourage him to play his style.
Mukhamadullin was a highly regarded prospect not long ago and the centerpiece of the Timo Meier deal; at 6-foot-4 with real mobility. The Oilers will want to bring that out in him again. Boxing him in would be a mistake.
Edmonton, with a more established structure and less pressure on a young blueliner to be "the guy," may be a better fit to unlock that talent. Not only that, but a change of scenery — and a fresh $3.5 million, two-year deal — gives Mukhamadullin exactly the reset he seemed to want.
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