Alexei Yashin

Alexei Valeryevich Yashin (Алексей Валерьевич Яшин, Aleksej Valer'jevič Jašin) is a professional hockey player, born in Sverdlovsk, USSR, now Yekaterinburg, Russia, on November 5, 1973. He gained his initial fame after being the first ever draft pick of the expansion Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (2nd overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft).

Ottawa Senators, 1993-2001

After remaining in Russia for the 1992-93 season with the Dynamo Moscow, Yashin arrived in Ottawa for the 1993-94 NHL season, the same year as Ottawa's other touted young phenom, Alexandre Daigle. Yashin soon eclipsed Daigle as the team's brightest young star, scoring 79 points in his rookie season and earning a nomination for the Calder Trophy.

Subsequent seasons saw him emerge as a superstar, helping Ottawa make the playoffs for the first time in 1997. In 1998, he scored a key overtime goal against the New Jersey Devils that helped the Senators secure their first ever playoff series victory.

Yashin was eventually named team captain, and the pinnacle of his career came in the 1998-99 season when he scored 94 points and was a runner-up for both the Hart Trophy for the NHL's most valuable player, and the Richard Trophy for the highest goal scorer.

Off the ice, however, Yashin's stay in Ottawa was tumultuous. Several nasty contract disputes developed between Yashin and the team, beginning when Yashin refused to play the start of the 1995-96 NHL season unless he was given a contract similar to the glitzy deal bestowed to Daigle. Yashin's anger at being paid less than Daigle was probably justified since Daigle never even approached his potential. Yashin's offensive numbers exceeded Daigle's in every season they played together on the Senators. ^*^* However, the holdout caused many Senators fans to sour on him.

Tensions reached a high point after the 1998-99 season when Yashin refused to honor the final year of his contract and demanded a trade. The Senators refused, arguing that his refusal to play was a breach of his contract. Consequently, Yashin spent the entire 1999-00 NHL season practicing with a team in Switzerland. An NHL legal panel ruled that Yashin still owed the Senators one more season, and Yashin returned to the team for the 2000-01 season. The debacle cost Yashin the team captaincy he had attained only two years earlier (Daniel Alfredsson succeeded him), over $3 million salary and the respect of many fans. He soon received the nickname "Alexei Cashin."

In 1998 Yashin had promised to give a million dollars to the National Arts Centre, the Centre's largest ever donation. When the NAC learned that one of the conditions of this donation was for them to pay Yashin's parents $425,000 in "consulting fees" for nonexistent services, they balked and Yashin promptly cancelled the deal. When the press learned details of the failed deal, Yashin became especially unpopular in the city of Ottawa.

New York Islanders, 2001-Present

Yashin was traded, as expected, following the 2000-01 playoffs after the Senators were swept in the first round by their arch rival Toronto Maple Leafs. On draft day, 2001, Yashin was sent to the New York Islanders for defenceman Zdeno Chara, forward Bill Muckalt and the second overall draft selection, which the Senators used to draft highly-touted centerman Jason Spezza. The Islanders promptly signed Yashin to an enormous 10-year, $87.5 million USD contract. While his contract was reduced 24 percent due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed in 2005, Yashin is widely considered overpaid and virtually untradeable.

Since joining the Islanders, Yashin's point production has declined. While he helped his new team make the playoffs for the first time in eight years in 2001-02, the Islanders have been unable to advance beyond the first round. The Isles bowed out to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a hard-fought seven game series in 2001-02 and then lost in five games to Ottawa in 2002-03 and the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Yashin's play was generally praised in 2001-02, as he carried the team's offense for stretches during the season. Since then, however, his mediocre point production has led people both inside and outside the Islanders organization to question his effort and salary.

Prior to the 2005-06 season, the Islanders lost several key players to free agency or retirement and significantly retooled their roster. Captain Michael Peca was traded to free up room to sign free agents such as high-scoring wing Miroslav Satan. Yashin succeeded Peca as team captain. Journalists suggested that the team had finally been built around Yashin and would sink or swim with his performance. A common defense of Yashin's decreased offensive output had been the lack of legitimate first line winger to play with him. Satan and Yashin showed signs of chemistry early in the season, but generally produced disappointing results. When Satan was moved off Yashin's line, his offensive output increased markedly. After the season ended with the Islanders out of the playoffs for the first time since his arrival, Yashin acknowledged that he needed to score more. Since the Islanders' season ended, there had been speculation that the team would buy out his contract and rebuild the team in a different image. However, the July deadline passed, which means that Yashin will remain with the team.

Miscellany

On the international stage, Yashin has represented his native Russia in the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics. He has won Olympic silver (1998) and bronze medals (2002). Yashin also represented Russia at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Yashin is married to actress and model Carol Alt.

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Ottawa Senators, 1993-2001

New York Islanders, 2001-Present

Miscellany

See also