Yashin Rep: $7M Out Of Line
Alexei Yashin's agent thinks the Ottawa Senators are out of line for asking his client to pay $7 million in damages for holding out this season.
"I have no idea how they came up with the figure," Mark Gandler was quoted as saying by the National Post. "I just do not see that this claim has any merit."
The NHL, on behalf of the Senators, has filed a grievance seeking damages from Yashin, who left the Senators in September when the club failed to renegotiate his contract. He was suspended by the club when he failed to report by a November deadline.
The NHL said it arrived at the $7 million by taking into account Yashin's contract of $3.6 million and factoring in his expected asking price of more than $10 million next season.
"What did they do?" Gandler said, "throw spaghetti against the wall and see what stuck?"
In all, there are now three grievances filed in connection with Yashin's holdout.
The NHL Players' Association filed a grievance on what's being called the status issue, asking an arbitrator to rule whether Yashin should become a restricted free agent on July 1, when his contract expires. The NHL and the Senators contend that Yashin owes one more season.
The NHL also filed a grievance against the NHLPA for allegedly violating the collective agreement by supporting Yashin's holdout.
Yashin is in Europe and Gandler said there are no plans for him to return to Ottawa unless his contract is renegotiated.
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