Thought of the Week: Senators' Yashin Problem

Thought of the Week: Ottawa Senators' Yashin Problem

Playing tough with holdout player has legal, business ramifications for team, fans, NHL

New York -- The Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators are different hockey franchises playing in very different markets. But one thing they have in common are players embroiled in salary disputes. Of course, that is nothing new in sports, but the stakes in the NHL are higher than most think.

In recent years, NHL players have benefited from substantial increases in salaries. Despite what was thought to be a pro-management collective bargaining agreement in 1996, the salary problem has grown even worse, especially for small-market teams in Canada. Two franchises have moved to larger cities in the United States (Quebec to Colorado and Winnipeg to Phoenix) and it is not unlikely that two others (Edmonton and Ottawa) could follow. The tax laws and the value of the Canadian dollar and a lack of full revenue sharing among the teams does not help (sounds familiar, baseball fans?)

In Ottawa, things have come to an ugly head involving Alexei Yashin. The captain of the Senators and their star player since they joined the league, Yashin's agent told the Ottawa Sun that unless the player get a negotiated contract, he will not report to training camp. He currently makes $3.6 million in the final year of his five-year contract. Such threats by Yashin are not new. This is the third time he has held out.

A legitimate question of whether the team could afford to pay him his "market" value -- say, $8 million per year -- exists. The relations between Yashin and the Senators deteriorated to the point that the team publicly released letters written to the agent, in an apparent attempt to embarrass the player in front of the press and the fans.

According to the Sports Business News (a Canadian web magazine, not related to MSLN), the Senators play-by-play announcer said that the team plans to compel Yashin to honor the contract. According to the collective bargaining agreement, if he does not play, he does not become a restrictive free agent at the end of the season. The time period simply tolls until he completes his obligations.

Fans in Ottawa are irate, as they should be, and have floated the idea of suing Yashin, class action style. Sorry, I don't think this will work. When a fan buys season tickets, they are contracting with the team, not any individual player. Even if a player engages in a breach of contract or acts with bad faith in performance of his duties, he generally be held liable to those he had contractual relationship with. The more interesting question is whether they could sue the team for their money back. The answer is generally no, but not quite as clear. In the 1970s, lawsuits against the San Francisco Warriors by a group of fans for the loss of Rick Barry and a similar group of then-New York Nets after Julius Erving went to Philadelphia had limited success.

For the Senators, their options have more to do with business considerations. If they sue Yashin for breach, the remedies are limited. The courts will not force him to play; they may award a few dollars to the team (probably not much because they are not paying his salary anyway) or prevent him from going to another team. Additionally, the NHL, like other sports organizations, do not like their dirty laundry in court. In fact, the New York Rangers were fined by the commissioner Gary Bettman for suing former coach Mike Keenan in federal court in New York (the case was settled through the commissioner's office). Finally, if they sue, Yashin will be even unhappier, have a worse attitude and his production and the effect on the other team members can only go south. His trade value can diminish, too.

Contract law does not easily deal with those questions. That just adds to the headaches of a general manager for a small-market team.

Khristich Case

The different situation arose in Boston, one of the "original six" NHL teams. General Manager has been critical of high payrolls of other teams, and has attempted to keep a tight string on the Bruins' payroll. Dmitri Khristich, a talented player who can spark offense, but the team was critical of his performance in key games. The Bruins offered $1.9 million for one year; Khristich sought $2.8 million. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the player.

Sinden, irate, refused to pay the higher amount. Not surprisingly, Khristich refused the lower amount and unless the Bruins change their mind, Khristich can sign with any team. His agent says that there has been few takers, and implied that the league is engaged in collusion to prevent him from signing.