| | ESPN.com news services
KANATA, Ontario -- With no regrets and no apology to his
fans, Alexei Yashin returned to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Senators general manager Marshall Johnston announced the return
of his superstar at a news conference at the Corel Centre, ending a
holdout that began last summer when Yashin demanded that his
contract be renegotiated.
|  | | Alexei Yashin is back in a Senators uniform, but there's no guarantee for how long. |
Yashin sat out the entire 1999-2000 season in hopes of
renegotiating his contract, even though a year remained at $3.6
million. He then tried
to get an arbitrator to declare him a free agent. The arbitrator
rejected that and told Yashin he still owed the Senators a year
under his current contract.
Yashin's attempt to appeal that
decision in court failed last week.
"The arbitrator's decision compelled me to come back and play
for Ottawa," said Yashin, who had 44 goals and 50 assists in
1998-99. "I'm here because I can't play hockey anywhere else in
the world."
Neither Yashin, nor his agent Mark Gandler, said they regretted
the decision to hold out.
"I'm not going to apologize to my fans because I know a lot of
fans still like me and still want to me to play hockey," Yashin
said. "I will do my best and we'll see what happens."
Before Yashin held out last season, Gandler presented an offer for a three-year deal worth $3.6 million in 1999-2000, $11 million in
2000-01 and $12 million in the 2001-02 campaign. It was
promptly rejected by the financially strapped Senators.
"My job right now is really to make sure Alexei is happy
with his career and his life. For now the focus should stay on
making the best of this year and going as far as possible,"
said Gandler at the news conference.
After Yashin refused to play, the Senators suspended their
star center for the season on Nov. 9. Senators general
manager Marshall Johnston even took
legal action to recover financial damages as a result of
Yashin's absence.
Johnston said on Saturday that "there will be no
requirements associated with Yashin's return."
Senators majority owner Rod Bryden did not attend the news
conference.
It's unclear how Yashin's teammates will react to his return. He said he will focus on playing hockey and not in mending any bad feelings that
have formed with his fellow players or fans.
"I'm just coming to play hockey and other people have to
take care of atmosphere in the dressing room. I just want to
keep focused on the game, try to get myself in the best shape
and to try to make a lot of my friends happy," said Yashin.
Last month Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson -- who replaced
Yashin as team captain -- said he is willing to forgive his
teammate.
"He would be welcomed back by most of the guys," Alfredsson
told the Ottawa Citizen. "He's a good hockey player and he's going
to help any team."
However, some Senators players still have issues with Yashin,
including Vaclav Prospal who has promised to throw his two cents in
if he returned. Alfredsson has admitted that there would have to be
a clearing of the air.
"If he was committed to play 100 percent, and follow our
system, we would want him here," Alfredsson said. "Of course,
there would be (some awkwardness), but there's nothing you can't
talk about. You have to play with open cards. In the long run,
everyone wants to win."
Yashin's agent said on Saturday that he was still unhappy
with the arbitrator's decision, but would not comment on what
Yashin would do after completing the one year commitment with
the Senators.
With Yashin in the lineup, the Senators posted the
second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the third-best
mark in the NHL in 1998-99. Last season, Ottawa finished second
in the Northeast Division and lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs
in the first round of the playoffs.
In 422 NHL games, all with Ottawa, Yashin has 178 goals and
225 assists for 403 points with a minus-69 rating.
The second overall pick in the 1992 draft eventually helped
turn the Senators from a perennial doormat to one of the
league's best teams. | |
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Yashin loses appeal, still owes Senators final year
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