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Tuesday, November 9, 1999
Ottawa takes a stand
OTTAWA - The cold war between the Ottawa Senators and holdout captain Alexei Yashin just got a whole lot hotter.
The Senators took the unprecedented move Tuesday of suspending Yashin for the rest of this season, have vowed not to trade him and will seek damages caused by him not honouring the final year of his contract.
The club, with the backing of the NHL, also is taking the position Yashin has not fulfilled the terms of his contract so, when he decides to return to the NHL, he will still owe them another year under the terms of his current deal.
The Senators had set a deadline of midnight Monday for Yashin, who's holding out for a contract extension, to report.
He remains, defiant, in Switzerland.
"At this point in our season, it's important for our team, our players and our fans to have some degree of certainty as to Alexei's availability for the balance of the season," read Senators general manager Marshall Johnston from a prepared statement at a Corel Centre press conference.
"The club's action today provides them with the certainty they deserve."
Certainty is not a word that applies in this situation.
The only certainty is this whole thing is likely to wind up in front of an arbitrator or in the courts.
"I don't know anything," said Senators winger Magnus Arvedson when surounded by the roving scrum of camera, microphone and notebook toting reporters.
He's not alone.
"We're into unchartered waters here," said Todd Diamond, an associate of Yashin's agent, Mark Gandler. "We have not received anything from the Senators (today). All we know is what you and your colleagues have been telling us. It seems to us this is consistent with what they've said they'll do.
"We'll review it and decide what our course of action will be. Eventually something will happen. We'll have to discuss it among ourselves and the players' association."
The National Hockey League Players' Association, which has not been publicly involved in the dispute, is sure to challenge the Senators' position Yashin will still owe them a year if he sits out this season.
What happens if Yashin decides to show up before this season is out. Are the Senators obligated to pay him?
"He definitely won't be there anytime soon. But there is going to be a lot of language that has to be interpreted by an arbitrator," said Diamond.
"This is the only lever for a player who has some term left on his contract. This could have widespread ramifications througout team sports."
In Johnston's statement, he said it's the club position that "under the terms of his Standard Players Contract and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as under the principles of contract law, Alexei is obligated to give our club one more full season of play under the terms and conditions of his contract."
Wondered Diamond: "Is that U.S. or Canadian contract law? Or team sports law?"
Johnston said the extent of the financial damages suffered by the club because of Yashin's breach of contract will be clearer at the end of the season. With the backing of the NHL, "the club will take appropriate action through the arbitration procedure set forth in the Collective Bargaining Agreement to recover these damages."
The fact of the matter at this point is the Senators are better off at this point in the season without Yashin than they were last year with him. Attendance at the Corel Centre is up an average of almost 1,300 fans through nine home dates (16,868 this season compared to 15,594 last year).
The team's record through 16 games this season is 10-4-1-1 while last year the Senators were 7-6-3.
Where's the damage so far?
Fans, sick of contract battles, have seen what the Senators have done so far. They're squarely behind the Senators on the radio call in shows and some have even threatened to boycott games if the club backs down.
But the feeling among the Senators players is they are a better club in the long run with Yashin in the lineup.
"This is the first time I can think of this happening," said 16-year-veteran winger Kevin Dineen, who signed with the club as a free agent just before training camp. "This was the best chance, of the teams available to me, to win a Stanley Cup. The bottom line is this is a guy who would make our team better. The bottom line for me is winning the Stanley Cup and I think we have a better chance with him than without him."
Johnston also said Yashin wouldn't be traded for any help.
"While we recognize the probable value that could be gained by the club by entertaining trade offers for Alexei's contract, we believe the best interest of our club and fans would not be served by consummating such a trade," said Johnston. "We firmly believe the long-term future of our club in Ottawa depends upon players respecting the contracts they agree to.
"As a result, we will no consider a trade of Alexei."
While Dineen wouldn't say if Yashin is wrong or right, other teammates knew what they would be do in similar circumstances.
"If I signed a four-year contract, I would play four years," said Arvedson.
"I don't necessarily agree with what he's doing at all," said 19-year-old rookie Mike Fisher, who's playing with Yashin's old linemates, Andreas Dackell and Shawn McEachern.
"He'll definitely help the team if he's here. If not, we've still got a pretty good team."
HEAR AND THERE: In a bid to bolster their black-and-blue blue-line, the Senators signed 34-year-old defenceman Bobby Dollas Tuesday. He's been playing with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League. Dollas is a good defensive defenceman who should fill a gap created by the long-term losses of Igor Kravchuk, out for six weeks with a knee injury, and Sami Salo, who is down for up to three months with a broken wrist. Because Dollas is an unrestricted free agent signed after the waiver darft, the Senators had to put him or a player who was on their protected list on waivers. Dollas went on waivers Tuesday at noon and teams have 48 hours to make a claim. The Senators tried 20-year-old blueliner Karel Rachunek, but he only played about nine minutes the last two games. He was returned to their Grand Rapids farm club Tuesday.
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