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| Tuesday, November 9 | |||||
OTTAWA -- Just as his girlfriend predicted in a television interview earlier Monday, Alexei Yashin did not return to North America before the Monday night deadline set by the Ottawa Senators.
Model/actress Carol Alt was a guest on "Live with Regis & Kathie Lee" on Monday morning and said she was flying to Switzerland to be with Yashin. As expected, the Senators' midnight ET deadline came and went without the holdout center reporting to the team. Alt was with Yashin in Switzerland last Friday, in the small town of Kloten, where he celebrated his 26th birthday with his mother, father and agent Mark Gandler. Demanding a new contract or trade, Yashin has refused to honor the final year of his $3.6 million deal and maintained he won't be back despite warnings from GM Marshall Johnston that he won't play again this season. "The minute he doesn't show up, this story is going to get really interesting," said an NHL GM, who asked to remain anonymous. "What do the Senators do next and what does Yashin do next? "I know the Senators are serious and I know just because they've set a deadline it doesn't mean they're going to start entertaining offers for trades. I really believe the NHL wants to see how far it can take this one." The first step was taken by the Senators on Tuesday when the team suspended Yashin for the season. Yashin seems willing to wait in Switzerland until he gets a trade or a new contract for next year from Ottawa.Teams that have called the Senators have been rebuffed several times. Generally, they're told the club isn't entertaining any offers for Yashin and isn't making offers to him, either. At least one NHL GM believes the club's stance is wrong. "I'd trade him right now," said the GM, who wished to remain anonymous. "You look at the Vancouver Canucks in the situation they had with Pavel Bure and they waited too long to make that trade. They couldn't save themselves at that point.
"I know the Senators are winning and everything is going great right now. To me, the best time to deal is when you're in a position of strength, and trading Alexei Yashin would be a popular move." |