Alexei Yashin is drawing interest from the New York Islanders.
OK so you've stopped me, fine. Be that way.
But this story is actually new. So now you're curious, the way someone is curious when driving past a fiery wreck or when you see someone trip and fall.
Initially, you feel concerned but deep-down you want to laugh.
Out loud.
And point.
It's time to just not be concerned here folks, the time for concern is over. This is point-and-laugh out loud time.
Yashin's agent, Marc Gandler told Newday he spoke with Islanders' general
manager Garth Snow on Thursday but no agreement was reached.
"We've had discussions," Gandler told Newsday. "But it's been very slow
because I told them in the beginning how much I wanted. They're obviously not
happy about that. But clearly, they missed him. They didn't have a first line
last season."
Oh, the beauty of being an agent - you get to mangle with the truth!
In case you've forgotten, Alexei Yashin is a former Hart Trophy winner with the Ottawa Senators and he's the father of the obscene Islanders contract. You know, before Rick DiPietro signed for 15 years, Yashin signed on with Wang's Islanders for 10 years and $87.5 million dollars.
It could be argued pretty easily that Yashin's contract (along with Bobby Holik's Rangers contract of 5 years $45 million) are Exhibit's A and B as to why the NHL Owners needed to be saved from themselves and help ruin the final shreds of relevancy - but then Charles Wang went and gave Ricky D a 15-year deal after the lockout. Go figure, idiocy continues unchecked!
What's incredible is that Yashin is taking the season he had with Yaroslavl, a Russian professional team, and using that to try and convince the Islanders that his scoring touch, in a league that's a little bit lacking compared to the NHL is good enough mind you, is back.
Amazing!
The fun doesn't end there from Yashin's agent - a true spin doctor if I've ever seen one.
"If we can't get anything soon, we're going to take the offer with
Yaroslavl," Gandler told Newsday. "I think they're interested, but I'm not sure
they're comfortable with the amount."
That's right Islanders, you're on the clock until July 1st to decide if you want to bring back the face of failure to the franchise. The best part of all of this is Gandler's insistence that the only thing keeping the two sides apart is MONEY.
Really? You mean to tell me that the Islanders are gunshy about giving up a ton of money to a guy that was, for all intents and purposes, a colossal failure on the Island. Being an agent must be the most ridiculous and fun job on earth for all the nonsense you get to come up with and potentially get away with.
The saddest part of all this is that the Islanders could use a guy with some scoring touch. The Isles were brutally inoffensive last season. Mr. Hillary Duff, Mike Comrie, was the team's leading scorer with 49 points and Bill Guerin was the leading goal scorer with 23. Ouch. The unrestricted free agency options for scoring are mostly lacking and going the restricted route is most dangerous and unexpected.
Is an older Yashin the answer for the Isles? No, but if the options are slim, and chances are no one is going bonkers trying to play for the Islanders, the Isles and GM Garth Snow might want to take a flier on Yashin just because.
To think that Yashin is going to want a ton of money from them is laughable, especially considering Yashin is still on the Islanders books from being bought out before the start of last season.
He's on the books until the 2012-2013 season! Unreal.
Believe me, Alexei Yashin is a bad guy to have on a team. He's selfish, doesn't much care for the success of the team and looks to fill out his own scoresheet above everything else - and I was a big fan of Yashin's while he was in Ottawa. That said, I can't help but feel we'll see #79 on the ice again for the Isles, mainly because they'll have no other options left to fill out their ranks with talent.
Let's just hope Charles Wang is smart enough to not give him more than a two-year contract.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment