Isle Ridicule

The player in the picture above is Alexei Yashin.  Before I get to why I am talking about him, I'd like to say that the turtleneck look he sports is fantastic, and I sometimes don that look, only with the mock turtlenecks.  Now, the real reason why Yashin is being talked about is that there are rumors of him returning to the New York Islanders.  As you may recall, Yashin was given a 10 year, $87.5 million contract in 2001 after being obtained from the Ottawa Senators.  After the 2006-07 season, he was bought out by the Islanders and went to the KHL.  An equally unsuccessful campaign there has him thinking about a return to the NHL, and possibly the Islanders.

Yashin's history points to not only an inconsistent effort on the ice, but also a big ego off of it.  From the time he was drafted by the Senators in 1992 (second overall), he has had a star-crossed career.  Two contract disputes in his time with Ottawa overshadowed his offensive output (94 points in the 1998-99 season was his career high), with him missing half of the 1995-96 season and the entire 1999-2000 season.  The latter included the Senators stripping him of the captaincy and an unsuccessful play for free agency status after that season.  He would be traded to the Islanders after the 2000-01 season and sign the big contract.  However, his best year on the ice with the Islanders was his first year, where he managed 75 points.  He never broke that total for the rest of his time with the Islanders (or in the KHL, for that matter).  He was bought out after the 2006-07 season, and the Islanders are still on the hook for $2.2 million.  The rumor of Yashin even returning to the Islanders is certainly a head scratcher, as the Isles have the talent in place, with John Tavares, Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner, and Kyle Okposo representing the team's youth movement and Mark Streit returning from injury.  Yashin will be 38 during the season, and his numbers in the last decade don't suggest that he will help the team.  Given that the Isles need a positive veteran presence to help out, Yashin is the last guy the Isles even need to look at, let alone any other team.  If Yashin does return to the Islanders, here's hoping Trevor Gillies has his fighting hat on.