Hockey Night in Canada's Scott Morrison delivers his insights into the world of hockey, on and off the ice.
Islanders were right to buy out Yashin
Comments (12)
Wednesday, June 6, 2007 | 11:47 AM ET
By Scott Morrison
Who says money can’t buy happiness?
Charles Wang agrees to write a cheque for $17.63 million to Alexei Yashin just to go away and a lot of people are happy.
Oh, Yashin may be sad his career is over, but the money should put the smile right back on.
Garth Snow, the New York Islanders general manager, suddenly has roughly $5 million worth of new salary cap space with which to find some offence for his team, thus some new-found hope and who can put a price on that?
Ted Nolan, the Islanders coach, will no longer have to endure watching his captain languish on the ice and being forced to make him the world's highest-paid gate opener, so that must be warming the heart.
And the Islanders fans, a small but loyal group, won't have to be frustrated by the under-achieving multi-millionaire. They will have to find another reason for not watching and who doesn't love a new challenge?
It's all good.
Except, perhaps, for Wang, who is losing a friend and that $17.63 million for Yashin to officially not play.
Undoubtedly, the Islanders' decision to buy out the remaining four years of Yashin's 10-year, $87.5 million contract was not an easy one in large part because they are giving away money and conceding that signing a player to a 10-year contract probably isn't a good idea after all, although it didn't stop them from signing Rick DiPietro to a 15-year deal.
Whatever, the hard decision, if it was a hard decision, was still the right decision...at least from a hockey standpoint.
Yashin, who was benched during the playoffs, was a $7.4 million drain to the budget and a nightmare under a salary cap. But by buying him out and spreading it over eight years, the damage is reduced to $2.2 million annually, which gives Snow a fighting chance to improve his team this summer while removing from the bench and the dressing room a guy who, after a decent start under Nolan last season, didn't have a pulse when he returned from injury.
The Islanders, in their published statements, insist having Yashin the previous five seasons, regardless of the whopping cost, was a good thing, essentially because he helped get them back to the playoffs. Indeed, they made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, although they never made it past the first round. Overall, he had 290 points in 346 games, which is hardly the production you expect from a player who pocketed the kind of money he did.
Debate what he gave the Islanders, debate the merits of his contract, but there is no arguing that Wang did the right thing Wednesday when he agreed to buy out Yashin. If not admitting to a mistake, he at the very least fixed a big problem.
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About the Author
Scott Morrison, the recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fameís 2006 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, has been covering hockey for 25 years. The Toronto native began his career at the Toronto Sun in 1979. After spending more than 11 years as a hockey writer and columnist at the paper, Morrison became Sports Editor in 1991 and led the section to being named one of North America's top-ten sports sections in 1999 - the first sports section in Canada to receive the AP Sports Editors North American Award. Scott, a former two-term president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, joined Rogers Sportsnet in 2001 as Managing Editor, Hockey, and is currently both a commentator on Hockey Night in Canada and a columnist for CBC.ca.
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Comments (12)
josh
Ottawa
Yashin should be ashamed of himself. He was a total deadbeat in Ottawa, even refusing to play for a season as he whined about his salary. Then thankfully he was traded to Long Island...and again whined and was even less productive. There should be a clause that states in all contracts, you produce...you don't get paid. Yashin is a spoiled brat that never had his heart in it. What a breath of fresh air to all hockey fans (especially NY fans) to see the poor excuse of a hockey player go. YEAH!
Posted June 18, 2007 09:20 PM
NB
As a memeber of the "small but loyal" group of Islanders fans, I've been waiting for this day for a very long time. Wang was warned that Yashin had no honour when he sat out during his dispute with Ottawa, only to sign the ridiculous deal with the Islanders. If you begin with dishonour, you end with dishonour.
Any NHL GM willing to take a chance on Yashin is an idiot. Let the guy ride off into the sunset with his millions and memories of his heartless and gutless days as an Islander.
Good riddance!
Posted June 7, 2007 12:21 PM
Kevin
DING DONG YASHIN IS GONE!!
I have a little bit of a bone to pick with the article though. Mr. Morrison stated the the Islanders had a "small but loyal" following. The loyal part is correct. but the Islander fan base is very large. I am originally from Long Island and just because the arena has been empty the past few years does not meant here are no fans. We have had no reason to come to the arena. Bad ownerships (see John Spano), Mike Milbury, 8 years not in the playoffs, and an old building that is falling apart. Believe me Scott, come down to Long Island and the city, you will be shocked by how many people are actually Islanders fans. With the news from yesterday, a lot more of us will be showing our faces!
Posted June 7, 2007 11:17 AM
Bill
It's Christmas in June on Long Island. Last week Milbury resigns, this week Yashin is bought out and hopefully next week Ryan Smyth signs a contract. It's all good!
Posted June 7, 2007 09:07 AM
John
Lawguyland
Great news, but Charles Wang is still screwing his team here.
The Islanders should have sent Yashin to Bridgeport years ago, to either force him to embarrass himself in the minors or get him to drop his contract.
Instead, the Wangster Wanker wastes $2.2 million a year against the cap for 8(!) years to make sure his buddy Yashin can survive unemployment.
God following this team is an adventure.
Posted June 7, 2007 02:58 AM
Faye
HIP HIP HOORAY! I'm a season-ticketholder for many years and am thrilled that Alex the Wonder Dog will no longer be clogging up the works. Now I hope that the Isles will be able to sign the one who SHOULD be captain ... namely Ryan Smyth.
Posted June 6, 2007 08:00 PM
paul
halifax
It just goes to show you , BUY Canadian !!!!
Posted June 6, 2007 07:42 PM
HAPPYISLANDER!
japan
YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! OH MY GOD THIS NEWS HAS MADE MY DAY! GO ISLES GO!!!!!!
Posted June 6, 2007 06:57 PM
Phil
Ottawa
Yashin stunk up the house in Ottawa with his selfish attitude and now has outstayed his welcome in Long Island. What a big surprise!
"Mad" Mike Milbury was a fool to offer him $80+ million and now the Isles management and owner finally realize this. I can only hope that, despite the team signing Rick DiPietro to a ludicrous contract, that the team can now focus on signing Smyth and others and not be the laughing-stock of the league for making such stupid deals. No player in today's NHL should be offered a contract over 5 years.
Good luck Islanders, I hope your are able to become more competitive and make a decent showing in the standings with future signings. Try to keep in mind that despite all of the flash and wow that players such as Yashin initially bring to the table, that they will soon fizzle out and the team will be stuck with a total dud; just ask Ottawa about Alex Daigle and Montreal about Radek Bonk and Sergei Samsonov.
Good luck, Alexei. I hope your career in one of the European leagues is more productive and less whiny and self-centred than it was in North America. All I can say is good luck and good riddance to bad news.
Posted June 6, 2007 05:52 PM
N T
Ottawa
Good! He was worthless here too. Signing anyone that long has it's pros and cons. With a player like Yashin is that you can keep him at the salary you agreed to, cons are that he will be with you for a long time and isn't all that great, PLUS he'll still demand more (as he did here in Ottawa).
Players who play the game mostly for the money, like Yashin, shouldn't even be given the opportunity to be in the NHL. Let someone who loves the game more than the money play.
Posted June 6, 2007 03:04 PM
zen
edmonton
I doubt the $17.63 million will cause a blip on the bank statement of Islander's owner Charles Wang. Hell, that was probably just the change in his car's ashtray!
I am hard pressed to come up with an NHLer more over-rated and over-paid than Alexei Yashin.
The Isles are a better team for this move. Of course, Mr. Wang will offer some ridiculous contract again soon - but at least it can't be worse than Yashins. Well, we are talking about Charles Wang, I suppose if anyone can make a worse deal, it'll be him!
Posted June 6, 2007 02:46 PM
john
ottawa
so what does this mean? Can Yashin still play for other teams, or is he forced to sit out of the NHL for 4 seasons while getting 2.2 million/year?
Posted June 6, 2007 12:45 PM