| Alexei Yashin |
Article Index for Alexei |
Website Links For Alexei |
Information AboutAlexei 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 ). 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 for the franchise that helped secure its first ever playoff series victory, against the New Jersey Devils . 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 the popular Daigle. Tensions reached a high point after the 1998-99 season when Yashin refused to honour the final year of his contract. The organization refused to trade him, arguing that he had no right to dishonour the agreement and would owe the Senators a full season whenever he decided to return to the league. Consequently, Yashin spent the entire 1999-00 NHL Season practicing with a team in Switzerland as Ottawa continued its success without him. An NHL legal panel sided with the Senators' position and Yashin reluctantly returned to the team for the 2000-01 season. The debacle cost Yashin the team captaincy (Daniel Alfredsson was handed the "C"), over $3 million salary and the respect of many fans who were already lukewarm toward the centerman. In 1998 Yashin had promised to donate 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, earning the nickname "Alexei Cashin" for his unwillingness to play in Ottawa according to his contract and his failed donation. Many fans were relieved when Yashin was traded, as expected, following the 2000-01 season. Having been swept in the first round by their arch rival Toronto Maple Leafs , the Senators attempted to look to both the present and the future in trading their superstar. On draft day, 2001 , Yashin was sent to the New York Islanders for defenceman Zdeno Chara , forward Bill Muckalt and the 2nd overall draft selection, which the Senators used to draft highly-touted centerman Jason Spezza . The Islanders promptly signed the 27-year-old Yashin to an enormous 10-year, $87.5 million USD contract. While his contract was reduced 24 per cent 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, the team has been unable to skate beyond the first round of the playoffs. The Isles bowed out to the to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2001-02, his old team, the Senators, in 2002-03, and the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Yashin's play has been criticized by fans, teammates and coaches. At one point, he was even demoted to New York's fourth line. Though his play may be criticized, Yashin generally remains healthy. This wasn't the case, however, when he missed most of the second half of the 2003-04 season after suffering several torn tendons in his right wrist when the skate of Philadelphia Flyers forward Michal Handzus cut his right arm. 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 . SEE ALSO |
|
|