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Friday, November 26, 1999
Union joins fight
NHLPA asks arbitrator to back Senators holdout's stance
ATLANTA -- The National Hockey League Players' Association filed a grievance on behalf of Senators holdout centre Alexei Yashin, the Sun has learned.
Sources told the Sun last night the union has asked an independent arbitrator to make a ruling on whether Yashin will be a Group II restricted free agent next summer if he doesn't honour the final year of his contract.
The Senators insist since Yashin isn't honouring the final year of his contract and he has been suspended for the season, then he'll have to play next season at his $3.6-million US salary.
While the union may not agree with Yashin's holdout, NHLPA head Bob Goodenow confirmed in an interview with the Sun that they will step in to protect the CBA they signed with the league.
Goodenow said Yashin should become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, even if he doesn't honour the final year of his deal, and that the Senators' stance that he owes them another year is wrong.
"Now that the situation appears to be going towards an interpretation of the CBA, absolutely we are involved and absolutely, we will be involved in defending the language in the agreement," Goodenow told the Sun's Al Strachan.
STAYED ON SIDELINES
Up to this point, the union has kept its nose out of the dispute because they felt Yashin and New Jersey-based agent Mark Gandler should deal with the issue.
However, the Senators escalated the fight when GM Marshall Johnston announced Nov. 9 that Yashin had been suspended for the season and wouldn't be allowed to return until next year.
"First of all, the dispute is between the player and the club," said Goodenow. "Our involvement and, or, influence in the matter is in the hands of the player and the agent. They've dealt with the matter exclusively (up to this point).
"Now, as the dispute evolves, it appears as though we will be involved in the application of the collective bargaining agreement. To have said anything before this point would have been premature because nobody knew whether there was going to be a new contract or whether the player was going to play.
"The dynamics of these situations are day-by-day. There are those who say we should step in or shouldn't be silent, but we don't say anything about any of the individual contracts. It's our policy not to comment on them."
Nowhere in the CBA does it say that a player who withholds his services owes his team another year on his contract. That's why the NHL and NHLPA are going to have to get a legal opinion.
"The NHLPA is simply stepping in to make sure that the rights of the players are protected and the league is simply trying to protect its member clubs," said Gandler from his home last night.
"Both want to make sure that the collective bargaining agreement is working for them. That's why this has become a union issue. As far as Alexei Yashin's decision not to report to camp, that has nothing to do with the union. That's his own personal decision."
Yashin continues to hold out in Switzerland, where he's skating with the Kloten Flyers. He plans to return to New York next month to celebrate New Year's with his family and girlfriend/actress Carol Alt if the dispute continues.
There has been no communication between the Senators and Yashin. "Nothing has changed," said Gandler. "It's all quiet."
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