The story has become infamous.
The New York Islanders acquired star forward Alexei Yashin in 2001 at an amazingly high cost, trading future Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara, the 2011 second overall pick (which turned out to be Jason Spezza) and Bill Muckalt for the Russian forward. If dealing those youngsters wasn’t enough, New York general manager Mike Milbury inked Yashin to a 10-year deal worth $87.5 million, a deal which would cripple the franchise for years.
In 2007, the Isles bought out Yashin’s contract and spread out the remaining cap hit over eight years.
Via NHL Numbers
Today, the Islanders are finally done paying Yashin as his contract has come off the books.
https://twitter.com/NHLnumbers/status/610911785802043392
The huge contract guaranteed that it would be impossible for Yashin to live up to it. While he was productive as an Islander, scoring at a healthy clip with the club, he never emulated his success with the Ottawa Senators. His deal was representative of Mike Milbury’s and the Islanders incompetence.
After he was bought out, Yashin played for four years in the KHL before hanging up the skates in 2011-2012.
The forward told Puck Daddy writer Dmitry Chesnokov back in 2013, that he wasn’t surprised of Milbury’s success as a broadcaster.
Finally, back in the Islanders: Mike Milbury’s tenure as the Islanders’ GM wasn’t the best, to say the least. Is it surprising that he is the leading hockey analyst in the US?
“No. Mike has been in hockey for a very long time and is well known. He is someone who has talked about the game for a long time. That’s why I am not surprised.”
That answer isn’t exactly surprising since Milbury has kept Yashin wealthy via his ludicrous contract.
Now, Rick DiPetro is the only buyout the Islanders will have to pay, as in 2013 the club used their compliance buyout to pay the former number one pick $1.5 million over the span of 16 seasons. Unlike Yashin, that contract doesn’t effect the Isles cap.
