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Monday, November 8, 1999
Yashin in Swiss bliss
Star forward will ignore today's deadline for return to Senators
UNLESS Alexei Yashin has mastered time travel, he will not be in Ottawa today to beat the Senators' deadline for his return.
This is the day the Senators have set as a deadline for Yashin to report to the team and honour the final year of his three-year, $3.6-million contract, or be suspended for the rest of the season.
But as of early this morning, Yashin remained in Switzerland where he's been camped for the last two months during his bitter dispute with the Senators.
"That's a deadline that's been set by them, but we don't have any deadlines," said Todd Diamond, an associate to Yashin's agent Mark Gandler at the International Sports Advisors agency in New Jersey.
Gandler was registered at a hotel near the Zurich airport last night.
"The situation remains the same in our camp," said Diamond yesterday. "Alexei is still in Switzerland, and will only come back if (the Senators) move on his salary, or if he is traded."
A rumour Saturday night during Ottawa's 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens had Yashin on a jet headed back to Ottawa, but it turned out to be false, just like the fake Yashin sightings in Phoenix when the Senators played in Arizona last month.
Yashin failed to report to the Senators' camp in September, and left for Europe after the team refused to renegotiate a hefty raise into the final year of his contract.
Ottawa GM Marshall Johnston responded by suspending the team's renegade captain, and went a step further by threatening to sue Yashin for breach of contract.
The Senators contend that if Yashin doesn't return today, it's within the team's right to suspend him for the entire season, and to demand he perform the final year of his contract at the negotiated salary.
While the NHL backs the Senators, the players' association would challenge the matter in court because there is no provision in the collective bargaining agreement for a team to suspend a player, then declare the final year of the contract didn't expire.
Senators acting captain Shawn McEachern said it was difficult not to think about Yashin because everybody wonders about his status.
"We'd be happy to have him back," said McEachern. "He's the best player on our team and one of the best in the league."
Senators assistant coach Andre Savard was also hoping for a last-minute miracle.
"As a coach, how can you not be happy if he does come back?" said Savard. "We've been going with the team that we have, but as coaches, we'd certainly be happy if he came back."
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