The Senators' decision yesterday to suspend holdout C
Alexei Yashin for the season "for refusing to honour his
contract is unprecedented," according to Bruce Garrioch of
the OTTAWA SUN, who reports that the Senators "admitted
making the move with [the] backing" of NHL Commissioner Gary
Bettman. If the team keeps its position, Yashin "will be
forced to play under his contract next year, won't be traded
and will be sued for damages" in April 2000. Garrioch
reports that if the Senators sue Yashin, they will "seek
damages for lost revenue for tickets and merchandise."
Canucks GM Brian Burke, on the Senators' stance: "I applaud
the move and so does everybody else in the league" (OTTAWA
SUN, 11/10). Burke: "It's pretty clear the Senators are
going to win this one" (OTTAWA SUN, 11/10). In Toronto,
David Shoalts reports that in making his statement
yesterday, Senators GM Marshall Johnston "tied the [Yahsin]
issue to the team's viability in Ottawa." Johnston: "We
strongly believe that the long-term future of our club in
Ottawa depends upon players respecting the contracts they
agree to" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/10). In N.Y., Joe Lapointe
notes that Yashin "has become the symbol for an N.H.L.
crusade against salary inflation." By trying "to save
hockey for Canada and restore the sport ... to fiscal
sanity," the Senators have "draped themselves in their
national flag." Lapointe notes that Yashin was set to earn
C$3.6M this season, "less than half of what most players of
his ability are currently paid" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/10).
LANDMARK CASE? In Ottawa, Ken Warren calls Yashin's
suspension a "potentially landmark decision, which could
have long-term effects on the future of the NHL and all
other professional sports leagues" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 11/10).
ESPN's Barry Melrose: "We're going to have a war and it's
probably going to end up in court unless leveler heads end
up meeting here" (ESPN, 11/9). MA-based NHL agent Jay Fee:
"The real issue is whether or not a player under contract
can withhold services as a remedy if he finds the terms of
his employment untenable." Milwaukee-based National Sports
Law Institute Chair Paul Anderson: "This is not a legal
issue. This is a collective bargaining issue" (WASHINGTON
TIMES, 11/10). In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch calls the Senators
suspension "a very carefully calculated move, but few people
out there would call it brilliant" (OTTAWA SUN, 11/10).
The NATIONAL POST's Roy MacGregor writes that the team's
action "could conceivably become the counterweight that
beings the pendulum finally moving back in the direction of
something approaching fiscal responsibility," or it could
"damage player-team relations to the point where the next
[CBA] is going to turn into an impossible tangle" (NATIONAL
POST, 11/10). In Dallas, Kevin Blackistone: "It's about
time that the contracts of pro athletes be worth something
to the people who are paying them, too" (DALLAS MORNING
NEWS, 11/10). An NHL exec: "What Yashin represents isn't
just one of your basic player vs. management stances,
there's the bigger issue for the league. Ottawa has become
the lightning rod for all of us" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 11/10).
