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| Tuesday, November 2 | |||||||||||||||||
Special to ESPN.com | ||||||||||||||||||
There's always too much talk about money and contracts in the NHL. But when star players are involved, it's impossible to avoid. By signing late last week, Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe avoided protracting a messy situation -- not to mention the loss of quite a few dollars. The real question now is what will happen with Alexei Yashin and Ottawa, where things get more complicated by the day.
Here is a look at those topics, as well as the Phoenix Coyotes and Vancouver winger Alexander Mogilny.
All along, I've had no sympathy for Alexei Yashin's holdout situation, but I could see Dafoe's situation was different. Dafoe and Boston Bruins general manager Harry Sinden had their points. It was terrific that Dafoe called Sinden, met him face to face without his agent and hashed out a three-year, $9.3 million deal.
Meanwhile, Yashin, facing a Nov. 8 deadline from the Ottawa Senators, is in danger of losing the whole year. Robert Reichel has already decided to sit out the year and play in the Czech league. He said he wants to play in the NHL, but as a restricted free agent, he can't just play for anyone he wants. Sports aren't like other occupations, where an employee can walk away and go work wherever he or she wants. The athlete has to understand the rules. Reichel isn't making anywhere near $3 million playing in the Czech league. He made his decision based on principles. He wants to play for what he thinks he is worth, not what the Coyotes think he is worth. That's fine, but he will not make the same amount of money anywhere else. Yashin and Reichel will lose a year of playing in the NHL and building on their careers. It will be difficult for them to come back and pick up where they left off. All the other leagues are excellent leagues, but they aren't the NHL. In Yashin's case, it doesn't seem realistic to me that the Senators will come back next year and say, "OK, Alex, we will give you the money you want now." If Yashin ends up signing an agreement close to what he would have signed for this year, he has still lost a year in the NHL and a year of income. I respect someone having strong principles, but sometimes they can make someone lose the proper perspective. The Coyotes are a big surprise, doing much better than I thought they would at this point. Like San Jose and Los Angeles, teams in the same situation in the strong Pacific Division, the Coyotes have shocked and surprised people with their consistency and level of play. They have survived through Jeremy Roenick's suspension and have little depth at center ice, especially with Reichel not returning this year. With Reichel and Roenick at center, they had a chance to really build on last year and be consistently good because teams need two good scoring lines. Look at the Coyotes on paper. Where are the goals coming from? Players like Shane Doan and Dallas Drake are producing more than they have before. Without goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, Mikhail Shtalenkov and Bob Essensa have filled in nicely. Phoenix's strength is its defense. The Coyotes' defenders aren't flashy, but they are experienced and get the job done. There seems to be a completely different feel in Phoenix, a looser atmosphere than last year. The new laid-back approach seems to be working.
Brian Engblom is a hockey analyst for ESPN, and he played 11 seasons in the NHL. | ALSO SEE Report: Yashin could be traded to Chicago
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