| | Associated Press
NEW YORK -- The NHL said Wednesday it won its case
against Ottawa Senators holdout center Alexei Yashin, a decision
that means he owes the team another year of service.
The league, which confirmed the decision, would not release any
other details of the case, except to say the decision was rendered
by arbitrator Lawrence Holden of Boston.
The high-scoring Yashin played four seasons of his five-year
contract with the Senators before sitting out the 1999-2000 season.
He contended he would become a restricted free agent July 1 because
the terms of his deal concluded June 30.
The NHL claimed the contract, worth $3.6 million for last
season, would not be complete on Friday because Yashin had not
worked during the fifth year of the deal.
"From a legal perspective, we think the arbitrator reached the
wrong decision," Ian Pulver, associate counsel of the NHL Players'
Association, said in a statement.
"This case was not about whether Alexei should or should not
have played during the 1999-2000 season. This was a case about
whether Alexei owed another year on his contract."
The last session with the arbitrator was May 30 in Ottawa.
Holden had up to 30 days from that day to render a decision,
meaning Thursday was the last possible date for an announcement.
A second arbitration hearing is scheduled for July over the
league's contention that the Senators should receive $7 million in
damages because Yashin's refusal to report to Ottawa hurt the
club's performance on the ice as well as in sales of tickets and
merchandise.
Now, there is the possibility that the Senators might trade
Yashin.
Holden's decision isn't a factor in a trade. His decision
matters only to the league which, through this case, was trying to
get something it couldn't through negotiation: language to prevent
a player from getting around a contract by sitting out.
This is a standard clause in the collective agreements of the
other major professional sports. The NHL tried but failed to get it
in its last round of bargaining with the NHL Players' Association. | |
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Senators say Yashin is welcome back
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