Yashin Not Warmly Received
Alexei Yashin is one of the NHL's most talented players. You wouldn't know it from the reception the Ottawa Senators center is getting when he's on the ice.
Boos have rained on Yashin since Sept. 18, when he returned after holding out for an entire season.
"I can't control (the fans)," Yashin said last week after 12,020 fans at Vancouver's GM Place jeered him repeatedly during an exhibition game. "People pay money to come so whatever they want to do is fine. My job is to play hockey."
He does that quite well. He was sixth in the league with 94 points in 1998-99 and finished second to Jaromir Jagr in voting for the Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP.
Yashin was scheduled to make $3.6 million last year but wanted to renegotiate. The Senators refused, and also rejected his trade demand. So he refused to play.
Yashin returned for this season after an Ontario judge, in effect, gave him two choices: Play in Ottawa or don't play in the NHL at all.
Yashin has shown flashes of his best play in four exhibition games, with three goals and two assists. He is an alternate captain for the Senators, who open their season Thursday at Boston.
"We're glad to have him back because he makes us a better team," Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said.
Most of Yashin's teammates agree.
"A lot of players, including me, didn't know what to expect," said Daniel Alfredsson, who became Ottawa's captain in Yashin's absence. "Did he really want to come back and work hard? That was everybody's question."
Center Vaclav Prospal said this summer that Yashin let the whole team down and acted selfishly by refusing to play.
"Everybody wants to win and we said all along that if Alexei can come back and work hard and put his best into every game and every practice, he will help the team get better because he's a very talented player," Alfredsson said. "So far he has definitely done that and that is the way it has got to be. He has to earn the respect of the other players."
Teammates will be keeping an eye on Yashin's performance.
"I don't think it's as much of a distraction for us as the media might think," Alfredsson said. "It's something we don't even bother listening to. He's got to earn the respect of the fans. A lot of people are upset about what he has done, but it's nothing we can control."
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