Yushkevich will sign -- soon

By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun MONTREAL -- All that is keeping Dimitri Yushkevich from rejoining the Maple Leafs now is finding a parking spot.
Both sides have made significant progress on a three-year deal -- worth a estimated $5.8 million US -- that would end one of the most bitter contract hassles in club history.
"We will talk (today) and we ought to have an agreement by the Leafs' next game (tomorrow against the Bruins)," Mark Gandler, Yushkevich's agent, said yesterday. "The Maple Leafs have some things to sort out."
"I would say (Gandler's comments) aren't unreasonable," Leafs assistant to the president Bill Watters said last night. "We just have some fine-tuning to do (with the roster)."
The arrival of two defencemen last week -- Bryan Berard ending his holdout and Cory Cross coming in the Fredrik Modin trade -- leaves the Leafs with eight men on the blue line and a maximum 23 players on the active roster.
To make room for Yushkevich, the Leafs likely will send defenceman Greg Andrusak to St. John's. A trade of forwards Derek and/or Kris King, neither of whom made last night's starting lineup, is a more remote possibility.
Andrusak cleared waivers last week, which would simplify his demotion. The 23 players do not include centre Alyn McCauley, who is classified as a non-roster player though he is symptom-free of post-concussion syndrome.
If the Leafs somehow can clear two spots, they could activate McCauley or bring back hungry young forwards such as Kevyn Adams or Nikolai Antropov from the farm.
The Leafs had called Yushkevich and Berard "overpaid" at one point during the summer-long contract battles.
When Berard settled first, Yushkevich and Gandler claimed the Leafs were not showing any respect and warned the defenceman would play in Europe this year and blow off the NHL.
Yushkevich originally asked for something in the average of $3.5 million US a season after his gritty playoff performance, but is settling for about $1.9 million.
The deal for Cross was a warning shot across the Russian's bow. Yushkevich began losing about $10,000 US a day in salary as of Friday. But the Leafs, despite their bluster, found themselves minus a key player on the eve of the regular season.
"You could say (the late date on the calendar) would be the reason for a deal, certainly from our side," Gandler said. "Dimitri's an emotional guy who can't sit around forever."
Yushkevich kept in shape last month by playing in Russia for his old club, Torpedo Yaroslavl.

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