Forsberg Part 2?
Obviously his career hasn’t been quite as prolific as that of the great (and oft re-injured) Foppa, but Alexei Yashin has definitely shown that he can play hockey, sometimes even in the NHL!
I have always been one of Alexei’s supporters, even when he was heavily frowned upon by the denizen of Ottawa. He was unpopular because of contract disputes, an apparent disdain for playoff hockey, and for reneging on a promise to contribute to the National Arts Center.
Firstly, I must say, the only part I ever felt was an actual poor reflection on Alexei’s character was his contractual problems, but I always managed to point the finger where it belongs, on agent Mark Gandler, who is notorious for guiding young Russian stars down the green path towards money rather than Cups. But, I digress…
This season, Yashin was bought out by the New York Islanders, and received nothing but undervalued offers (his opinion and his agent’s) from NHL teams, and he fled for home: Russia. In the motherland, he joined up with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, which is one of the anchor clubs in the Russian Super League. He is earning $3M (USD) tax-free, plus receives club-paid accommodation in the form of an apartment plus a car (from all accounts).
Yashin led his team with 16 goals and 43 points in 56 games.
Now, the reason I mentioned Forsberg is that we will again see a situation where a team could add without subtracting. One way would be via free agency, which will likely see Yashin get a few offers to come back to North America. I estimate it would take an offer of between $5M and $6M for him to even consider it… The other way would be for a team to wait until December or so to try to sign him. I’m sure there are some contractual issues that would need to fall together in order to facilitate such a transfer in mid-season, but in Russian hockey, a player only has to give two weeks’ notice to terminate his employment. It definitely is do-able.
The big question is: Does Yashin want to return? On the surface, there’s really no need for him to ever come back to the continent that treated him as a whipping boy. But, he did make a lot of dollars here, and even hooked up with aging supermodel Carole Alt. Whether or not the two are still in a relationship is something that I am unclear on, but I imagine they still are, as celeb-splitups make more news than anything else these days…
I, for one, would like to see Yashin get another shot, but in a second line capacity. I believe a lot of the problems his career faced were a direct result of being the frontman for the Ottawa Senators for so many seasons. I met him on several occasions, and he sounded like a poor choice for a captain, but a guy who really wanted to contribute on the scoresheet and highlight reel. Maybe it’s cultural, maybe it’s something else.
Either way, I’ll ask the reader:
Would you want Alexei Yashin on your team?
Author Bio
A new author at RMT, I've had previous experience at TheFourthPeriod.com and am currently the owner of Sportsfiend.ca, which is a multi-sports site.
I have been a hockey fan my entire life. I remember watching as a child as my father would tune in to any games with Czechoslovakia versus the Soviet (my family is Czech). It was those early childhood memories that engraved my love for hockey into the fabric of my person.
One thing I have learned is that hockey is a sport best enjoyed for its players, not its teams. Steve Yzerman is a rare commodity, meaning that rooting for a particular team may mean losing touch with your idols.
While Jagr is the player I admire most from a skill standpoint, I think Yzerman is the epitomy of professional sports, because of his genuine nature, his passion for the game, and his gentlemanly approach to what can be quite a soap-opera at times.
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No way, not to mention Ottawa, he was given too much money, or too big a contract in New York, for which the owners bought out because he is nothing special, maybe, big maybe a team like Detroit could use him as a third liner if he would agree to be paid 2 million max, or else, stay home Alex, no-one cares, and no-one want to hear your crying mouth anyway.
by Bryen Owen on March 13th, 2008 at 11:03 PM EDT
Oh come on… $2M max? NO WAY!!! You can’t really argue with 781 points in 850 NHL games, so let’s get real. Certainly he’s not a first line money kind of guy, but he’s gotta be better than third line, even in your anti-Euro opinion (LOL). I’m almost convinced that you’re just bitter that I took exception to your unilateral condemnation of European hockey knowledge in your last blog post…
Seriously, a team like (no way Ottawa) Nashville or Chicago could really use Yashin’s talent and size to build upon. He’s an awesome possession player, much like Jagr (playing with his a$$ to the defenders, impossible to take it away). He’s just not leadership material, and I believe there was a lot of undue pressure put on him, hence he (and his loser agent) got complacent.
Here’s the deal I would propose:
Yashin agrees to NEVER talk to Mark Gandler again, and I’ll offer him $4M per season for 3 seasons (kinda thinking I’m Chicago now). Incentives to get to $6M with playoff appearance, plus money for each round, up to that $6M figure.
I don’t see why everyone has such a hate-on for this guy. HE didn’t sign himself to a 10-year deal on the Island… That’s all Milbury and Wanger.
by Dan Rakusan on March 13th, 2008 at 11:10 PM EDT
Look Dan, I’m not bitter about your comments on my article, even though I don’t earn money to write, I try to be as professional as I can and read all comments, Yashin, I don’t like and it seems I’m not the only one either! And who do you think you are saying I’m anti-Euro? If you read my article you will notice that I said the Europeans bring a good aspect to the game, why would i say that if I was Anti-Euro? I said that the Euro’s bring a good aspect, but I prefer the Canadian way, I didn’t low-grade Europeans. As far as being in a position to comment, I’m in the same position as your are buddy! Hey, you prefer the Euro play, I prefer the Canadian play, at least I cheer for my country, and don’t prefer another country over mine. To me, Yashin is overated, and shys away from physical play given his size, he’s talented but not when it counts. You have your views, I have mine, try and stay professional and don’t jump to conclusions about me when you don’t know me, and don’t forget, you said you prefer any hockey than the Canadian brand, even Russian, wow for someone who talked about being a traitor in your Slovack article……
You see how easy it is to almost call someone something, even if this is not a paying job, stay as pro as you can be, and remember the Habs have many European players on the team, how could I be a lifetime fan if I’m anti-Euro? And lastly, it’s not an opinion, it’s fact, Olypic, World, Juniors, women, we are the better hockey country, not opinion, fact!
by Bryen Owen on March 13th, 2008 at 11:38 PM EDT
Look Dan, I’m not bitter about your comments on my article, even though I don’t earn money to write, I try to be as professional as I can and read all comments, Yashin, I don’t like and it seems I’m not the only one either! And who do you think you are saying I’m anti-Euro? If you read my article you will notice that I said the Europeans bring a good aspect to the game, why would i say that if I was Anti-Euro? I said that the Euro’s bring a good aspect, but I prefer the Canadian way, I didn’t low-grade Europeans. As far as being in a position to comment, I’m in the same position as your are buddy! Hey, you prefer the Euro play, I prefer the Canadian play, at least I cheer for my country, and don’t prefer another country over mine. To me, Yashin is overated, and shys away from physical play given his size, he’s talented but not when it counts. You have your views, I have mine, try and stay professional and don’t jump to conclusions about me when you don’t know me, and don’t forget, you said you prefer any hockey than the Canadian brand, even Russian, wow for someone who talked about being a traitor in your Slovack article……
You see how easy it is to almost call someone something, even if this is not a paying job, stay as pro as you can be, and remember the Habs have many European players on the team, how could I be a lifetime fan if I’m anti-Euro? And lastly, it’s not an opinion, it’s fact, Olympic, World, Juniors, women, we are the better hockey country, not opinion, fact!
by Bryen Owen on March 13th, 2008 at 11:39 PM EDT
Style of hockey and being a traitor to my country are totally un-related, as the people actually playing the game seldom carry political politics in their resumes, with Stastny being the exception (and that comes well beyond his playing lifetime)… Calling ME a traitor is of personal offence, even in just implicit.
You also mis-spelled SLOVAK. But my point isn’t to subjugate your opinion of our poor hockey knowledge in comparison to the Canadians’ (or I could equally mis-spell a country name in my rebuttal and spell it the way we do in the Czech Republic and Kanadians)…
Your previous post generalizes European players as second line (or second rate) players who can help fill out your Canadian rosters, but who can not really bring a team to the top. While I will stop short of saying “leading” a team to the Cup, I will cite Mikka Kiprusoff and Daniel Alfredsson as two Euros who I(much to my chagrin) led their teams at least to the finals, and I will put forth the argument that Khabibulin won the Cup for Tampa. Many people disagree with one another, but realistically, it’s sports, so it’s subjective, not empirical.
I love your writing, I am super-happy that you have chose here to write your stuff, but you have to take it less personally, which is why I posted my point as I did…
by Dan Rakusan on March 14th, 2008 at 12:53 AM EDT
“And lastly, it’s not an opinion, it’s fact, Olympic, World, Juniors, women, we are the better hockey country, not opinion, fact!”
Here’s to clarify some ignorance: The Czechs/Czechoslovaks/Slovaks were not ALLOWED to win under Soviet bud. We HAD to lose to Russia, so we never got to face the “best” teams at all, unless it was through luck of the bracket, and generally, we fared well. I’m not saying Czech, or Slovak is better than Canada, I’m just saying that to overtly extoll the virtues of Canada’s hockey program only means you’re better than a lot of countries who had other shit going on. Russia included.
And…. I’d rather watch hockey played at international levels or Euro-style, than the crap we’re watching in the NHL now…
by Dan Rakusan on March 14th, 2008 at 1:01 AM EDT
Point taken, by the way you mis-spelled “chosen” but since we aren’t quibbling about the small stuff, although I dislike the Maple Leafs, I would take Mats Sundin on my team any day, though not by a trade with the Leafs. The “first line” for the Habs this year is Kovalev, Kostitsyn and, Plekanec, who are all European, the other line is shapping up to be Koivu, Sergei Kostitsyn and Higgins, two out of three Europeans, Markov and Hamrlik are also Europeans, so like I said, there is nothing wrong with Euro hockey, I simply prefer the Canadian way, as far as for the spelling, I apollogise, my mistake, it was unintentional. You can spell Canada any way you wish, I won’t take offence, but don’t insult the country pal, I never called you a traitor, I merely pointed out that it would be easy to do so, as you made it seem I was Anti-Euro. I enjoy reading your material, but like I said, let’s both of us not take small stuff to heart, we have to agree to disagree, that’s what makes opinions what they are, you don’t have to agree.
by Bryen Owen on March 14th, 2008 at 1:10 AM EDT
And I don’t agree. I just find it funny sometimes that people completely disregard the impact of the crumbling of the Iron Curtain to the NHL… Guys like Makarov, Larionov, Fedorov, Stastny (x3, but only one was good enough for NHL), and others made today’s NHL. THEY are the ones, before Mario’s bitching, who showed North America, that there are other options than butchery to win hockey games.
My spelling is usually quite precise, so kudos to you for picking one mistake out, but, I didn’t mis-spell anything, I wrote in my own language, so I apologize for “chose” instead of “chosen” in my post. That is typo, if anything…lol EDIT —-> MY FIRST LANGUAGE IS CZECH, THEN FRENCH, THEN ENGLISH
by Dan Rakusan on March 14th, 2008 at 1:39 AM EDT
Look, this is not a political forum, so please refrain from making it one. The Communist rule was, what it was, I can’t speak of it as I was never under it. This is the last I will say about it, then that’s it for me. Ovechkin, and Malkin are the best players in the league this year by far, and I’m not afraid to admit it, I don’t dislike Europeans, I just prefer the “butchery” as you so put it, really? Crosby is a butcher, Mario Lemieux was a butcher, so was Wayne Gretzky I imagine, or Coffee, or Roy, Brodeur, do you want me to keep going? It could take years to name all the great North American players to grace hockey. Europeans are very talented, but to me I prefer to watch a hard hitting game is all.
The Red Rule is over, move on, stop using it as a crutch, European players are talented and, on some first lines of the NHL, and like I said, I would take Sundin, on my team, and I was upset that the Pens stole Hossa from us so please don’t start a fire where there is none.
If you want to be a political servant for your country, do it somewhere else, I simply said I enjoyed Canadian brand hockey better, “not” that Euro hockey sucks. If you want to really talk about politics, it will be in another forum.
by Bryen Owen on March 14th, 2008 at 2:25 AM EDT
There’s no crutch, stop putting words in my mouth please, as it takes me time to translate (albeit in my head)… I will take back my comment about you being anti-Euro, and re-iterate my comment about my problem being with your statement about Canadian fans being more knowledgeable or better. You said it yourself, not me…
The irony is that we both see the proper thing, but we can’t agree on the angle we see it at…
Anywayt Bryen, I appreciate your piece, and others you have written. It isn’t political at all, as much as maybe you think I’m trying to make it. My point isn’t politics, or nationalistic, or anything of the sort. It’s based on pure-hearted feelings for things people post here. It’s based also on an objective view of the NHL, which is why I spend my entire day working on nothing than covering the game itself. I do not begrudge your opinion or perspective at all. All I ask is the chance to argue against it if need be.
I hope we can be mutually satistfied with that position, and that it actually presents two sides to certain stories.
Dig it?
If you do, I have a nice STAROPRAMEN here with your name on it bud. Just plant yer ass in that bar stool, and we’ll have a good time!
EDIT – Also, don’t tell me when I can or can not talk politics, I believe the owner of the site will dictate those things. Besides which, I have posted, in one day, both Slovak and Russian articles, despite being Czech, and also have posted a ton of stuff about your players from KANADA (sp?). My favourite player of all time is Steve Yzerman, but the best in my books is still Jagr. Go figure, huh? Am I schizo?
DR
by Dan Rakusan on March 14th, 2008 at 2:34 AM EDT