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Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Yashin a 'disgrace'
Carolina GM says Primeau holdout different situation from Sens' saga
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jim Rutherford doesn't mince words when it comes to Alexei Yashin.
"What Alexei Yashin is doing in Ottawa is a disgrace," Rutherford told the Sun yesterday.
"He has a signed contract that he should be honouring and if the players union wants to stand by a guy like Alexei Yashin and say that he doesn't have to honour it, then that could change contracts everywhere.
"If that happens, then maybe we'll just say as teams that we aren't going to honour contracts anymore. I'm sure every team has two or three players that they aren't happy with and they'd be quite happy to get rid of their contracts. That's just not right."
Rutherford speaks from experience when he talks about the dispute with Yashin, who has been suspended for the season and could be headed to court to find out his status for next year.
Carolina management has been doing battle with Keith Primeau since the summer, with the Hurricanes refusing to raise their two-year, $6-million US offer and he won't accept it.
Going into tonight's game against the Senators, Carolina has a .500 record and is seventh in the East.
But Rutherford knows the opportunity is there to improve his team with a trade, and unlike the Senators who have refused to talk about anything involving Yashin, the Hurricanes are listening to all offers.
New York Rangers GM Neil Smith has been calling regularly. Philadelphia, San Jose and Los Angeles have also shown interest.
The asking price is high: An experienced player who can help the team immediately, along with two or thee good prospects. In the Rangers' case, Manny Malholtra, Todd Harvey and Jamie Lundmark have been mentioned.
"There have been lots of rumours in the past few weeks, some about three-way deals that guys have made up, and that has increased the level of interest. It's made my phone ring a lot more," said Rutherford.
"I'm not shopping him around. I'm just listening every time the phone rings."
In an attempt to force the issue, Primeau has listed his Raleigh home for sale. He has moved back to Whitby.
Still, that doesn't mean Rutherford is going to bend over backwards to make Primeau happy.
"At one point, his agent (Don Reynolds) called me and told me he was going to retire. Then, about five hours later he decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea and called back and said that (Primeau) was going to the national team. That's the last I've heard from them," said Rutherford.
"I don't know what's going to happen, but you can't just trade a guy because he's not satisfied with the organization. If you do it for one guy, then you're setting a bad precedent because then you're going to have to do it for the next guy and suddenly it won't stop.
"No guy is bigger than the team. I'm going to keep listening to offers and taking phone calls, but sooner or later if I don't get any offers and I'm spending too much time on it, then I'm going to move onto something else and just say: 'Forget about it.' That time is coming."
The Hurricanes and Senators are proving they can survive without their best players, but Rutherford's war with Primeau might be reaching the finish line, while the Senators' case against Yashin is a long way from over.
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