Alexei Yashin

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size= 175px
team = Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
former_teams = Ottawa Senators
New York Islanders
league = KHL
position = Centre
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 230
nationality = Russia
birth_date = birth date and age|1973|11|05
birth_place = Sverdlovsk, USSR
draft = 2nd overall
draft_year = 1992
draft_team = Ottawa Senators
career_start = 1992

Alexei Valeryevich Yashin ( _ru. Алексей Валерьевич Яшин, "Aleksej Valer'jevič Jašin", born in Sverdlovsk, USSR, now Yekaterinburg, Russia, on November 5, 1973) is a professional ice hockey player who plays for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League. Prior to this he played for the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators clubs of the National Hockey League, from 1993 to 2007.

Playing career

Ottawa Senators, 1993-2001

Yashin received his initial fame for being the first draft pick of the then-new Ottawa Senators (2nd overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft). After remaining in Russia for the 1992-93 season with the Dynamo Moscow, Yashin arrived in Ottawa for the 1993-94 NHL season, the same year as Ottawa's other touted young phenom, Alexandre Daigle. Yashin soon eclipsed Daigle as the team's brightest young star, scoring 79 points in his rookie season and earning a nomination for the Calder Trophy.

Subsequent seasons saw him emerge as a star, helping Ottawa make the playoffs for the first time in 1997. In 1998, he scored a key overtime goal against the New Jersey Devils that helped the Senators secure their first ever playoff series victory.

Yashin was eventually named team captain, and the pinnacle of his career came in the 1998-99 season when he scored 94 points. At the conclusion of the season, Yashin was runner-up for both the Hart Trophy for the NHL's most valuable player, as well as being named an NHL Second Team All-Star. Despite Yashin's regular season dominance, the Senators were swept in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres.

Off the ice, however, Yashin's stay in Ottawa was tumultuous. Management initially supported Daigle, who had been picked first in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. While they hesitated in giving Yashin a five year, $4 million contract, they signed Daigle to one of the largest rookie contracts in history and touted him over Yashin for the Calder Trophy at the conclusion of the 1993-94 season.cite web | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2001/08/08/sayitaintso_senators/ |title=Say It Ain't So, Senators|publisher=Sports Illustrated |accessdate=2007-12-10 |date=December 11, 2001] Several nasty contract disputes developed between Yashin and the team, beginning when Yashin refused to play the start of the 1995-96 NHL season unless he was given a contract similar to Daigle's. The holdout caused some Senators fans to sour on him. Some commentators have justified Yashin's anger at being paid less than Daigle since Daigle never even approached his potential. Yashin's offensive numbers exceeded Daigle's in every season they played together on the Senators.

In 1998, Yashin initially pledged to give a million dollars to the National Arts Centre, the Centre's largest ever donation. [cite web | url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/1998/03/03/yashin980303b.html |title=NHL star donates $1 million to National Arts Centre |publisher=CBC News |date=November 13, 1998 |accessdate=2007-12-10] (The Senators had earlier collaborated with the NAC to produce the 1998-99 season program titled as "Symphony on Ice", which featured head coach Jacques Martin on the front cover wearing a tuxedo and waving a conductor's baton, while NAC music director Pinchas Zukerman was shown in the Senators' locker room with a #00 Senators jersey.) When the NAC learned that one of the conditions of this donation was for them to pay Yashin's parents $425,000 in consulting fees for "loosely defined" services, they balked and Yashin cancelled the deal. [cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011900 |title=Alexei Yashin |publisher=Canadian Encyclopedia |accessdate=2007-12-10] The failed arrangement served to further damage Yashin's already strained relationship with the public in Ottawa.

The situation reached a new low after the 1998-99 season. Yashin refused to honor the final year of his contract and demanded a raise (he would have earned $3.6 million USD that year, compared to other star centerman like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic who made $6-7 million) [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/01/20/yashin.2.t.php Yashin:Hockey's Holdout Star - International Herald Tribune ] ] . When the Senators refused, he demanded a trade on the advice of his agent Mark Gandler. [cite web |url=http://www.mcgill.ca/news/2003/fall/meehan/two/ |title=Playing the Game |publisher=McGill University |date=Fall 2003] This was the third time Yashin demanded a new contract during his five years with the team. The Senators refused to trade Yashin, instead stripping him of his captaincy and handing it to Daniel Alfredsson. When Yashin still refused to report, the Senators suspended him for the rest of the 1999-2000 NHL season on November 10, with the full support of the NHL. Yashin tried to sign with a team in Switzerland, but the International Ice Hockey Federation suspended him from playing internationally until the dispute was resolved. After the season, an NHL arbitrator refused to make Yashin a free agent, ruling that Yashin had to abide by his contract in order to continue his NHL career.

Yashin returned to the team for the 2000-01 season. Despite being jeered by the crowd in every NHL arena, Yashin had a solid regular season. The Senators entered the post-season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and were paired against the seventh-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Leafs swept the Senators out of the playoffs. Yashin himself had a poor series while being shadowed by the Leafs' Shayne Corson. Yashin did not attend the final team meeting, held after the Senator's early playoff exit.

New York Islanders, 2001-2007

On draft day, 2001, Yashin was sent to the New York Islanders for defenceman Zdeno Chara, forward Bill Muckalt and the second overall draft selection, which the Senators used to draft highly-touted centerman Jason Spezza.Cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/draft01/2001-06-23-trades.htm|title=Yashin first of many draft-day trades|accessdate=2006-09-26|publisher=USA Today|year=2001|author=Mark Long] The Islanders signed Yashin to an enormous 10-year, $87.5 million USD contract. Although his contract was reduced 24 percent due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2005, Yashin was then widely considered overpaid and virtually untradeable.Cite web|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=127079|title=How long? It's 15 for Isles, DiPietro|accessdate=2006-09-26|year=2006]

After joining the Islanders, Yashin's point production declined. While he helped his new team make the playoffs for the first time in eight years in 2001-02, the Islanders were still unable to advance beyond the first round. The Isles bowed out to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a hard-fought seven game series in 2001-02 and then lost in five games to Ottawa in 2002-03 and the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Yashin's play was generally praised in 2001-02, as he carried the team's offense for stretches during the season. The following years, his mediocre point production led people both inside and outside the Islanders organization to question his effort and salary.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, the Islanders lost several key players to free agency or retirement and significantly retooled their roster. Captain Michael Peca was traded to free up room to sign free agents such as high-scoring wing Miroslav SatanCite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2123784|title=Peca to join Pronger in Edmonton|accessdate=2006-09-26|publisher=ESPN.com|year=2005] and Yashin became team captain.Cite web|url=http://www.newyorkislanders.com/team/player.asp?id=64|title=Player Bio - Alexei Yashin|accessdate=2006-09-26|publisher=NewYorkIslanders.com] Journalists suggested that the team had finally been built around Yashin and would sink or swim with his performance. A common defense of Yashin's decreased offensive output had been the lack of a legitimate first line winger to play with him. Satan and Yashin showed signs of chemistry early in the season, but generally produced disappointing results. When Satan was moved off Yashin's line, his offensive output increased markedly. After the season ended with the Islanders out of the playoffs for the first time since his arrival, Yashin acknowledged that he needed to score more. After the' season ended, there had been speculation that the Islanders would buy out his contract and rebuild in a different image, but the team decided to retain him.

An October 2006 article in "Newsday" suggested that Yashin must "make a difference" in 2006-07 or he will be bought out at the end of the season. [Cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles064920673oct06,0,768189.story?coll=ny-islanders-print|title=Here we go again|accessdate=2006-10-08|publisher=Newsday|year=2006] By the 20 game mark, Yashin was earning praise in the local media for the first time in recent memory, and his point totals were among the league leaders. [http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles124972604nov12,0,2996421.story] On Saturday, November 25, 2006, Yashin suffered a knee sprain after taking a knee-to-knee hit. He initially returned after a few weeks, but his effectiveness was reduced, and the team revealed that the knee was not 100%. Early in February, Islanders coach Ted Nolan decided to rest Yashin until his knee was completely healthy, which prompted questions about whether team still had faith in Yashin and whether the re-injury was legitimate or a pretext for benching him. [Cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/ny-spyashin025077031feb02,0,7258448.story|title=Yashin benched to rest knee|accessdate=2007-02-07|publisher=Newsday|year=2007]

Yashin finally returned to the line-up on March 8, 2007, and posted 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 16 games helping the Islanders clinch the 8th and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. In the first round series against the Buffalo Sabres, Yashin registered no points in five games and at times was demoted to the fourth line by coach Ted Nolan. [http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-sbiside155173069apr15,0,1643127.story?coll=ny-islanders-print] The Islanders decided to buy out the remainder of Yashin's contract in June 2007, according to a report in "Newsday". [http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles0606,0,2979334.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix] The contract was bought out for $17.63 million, or two-thirds of the amount left on the contract. It will be paid out over eight years ($2.2 million a year). [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/islanders/2007-06-06-yashin-buyout_N.htm Islanders to buy out Alexei Yashin's contract - USATODAY.com ] ]

Post Islanders, 2007-present

Perhaps surprisingly, Yashin's agent, Mark Gandler, claimed that his client was keen on a return to Ottawa once his contract had been bought out by the Islanders. "It's a new chapter and we'll be calling Ottawa for sure," Gandler was quoted in the Ottawa Sun, adding "He'd love to return to Ottawa, in fact." [ cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/NYIslanders/2007/06/07/4241591-sun.html|title=Is this a good thing?|publisher=Slam Sports] . However, Ottawa showed little to no interest in bringing Yashin back into the fold, and Gandler was "not happy with" contract offers from various NHL teams, resulting in threats of his client returning to Russia to resume his hockey career [ cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/2007/07/12/4333746-sun.html|title=Yashin ready to head home?|publisher=Slam Sports] . On July 20, 2007, Yashin signed a one-year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Super LeagueCite web|url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=334830&page=NewsPage&service=page|title=Alexei Yashin heads home to Russia, agrees to terms with Locomotiv|accessdate=2007-07-21|publisher=NHL.com|year=2007|author=Canadian Press] and has yet to return to the NHL.

Career statistics

International play

On the international stage, Yashin has represented his native Russia in the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Winter Olympics. He has won Olympic silver (1998) and bronze (2002) medals.

Personal

Yashin is in a long-term relationship with actress and former supermodel Carol Alt.Cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=amber_david&id=2672039|title=Facing off with Alexei Yashin|accessdate=2006-11-23|publisher=ESPN] He currently resides in Old Westbury, NY during the off-season and still maintains a residence in Ottawa.

ee also

*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons
*List of New York Islanders players

References

External links

*hockeydb|5819
*nhlprofile|8458939
* [http://www.watchmojo.com/sports/hockey/024_alexei_yashin.php Video Inteview]