Holdouts possible for group of talented youngsters
Maybe it’s the return of Alexei Yashin to the scene of the crime that’s causing the disruption.
Yashin, after all, was the man at the centre of the last great NHL holdout when he sat out the entire 1999-2000 season while trying to force his way out of Ottawa.
He’s back in North America these days, skating in irregular workouts with other New York Islander players, and suddenly there seems to be at least the possibility that the holdout, as a negotiating tool, may be on its way back as a feature of the NHL fall. Odd, that.
Maybe not. Maybe all these young unsigned players will sign lucrative new deals in time for training camp, just as Bobby Ryan did last September with Anaheim.
But while Ryan was an isolated case, right now there are six prominent young players — Drew Doughty, Luke Schenn, Zach Bogosian, Brad Marchand, Kyle Turris and Josh Bailey — looking for their second NHL contract but sitting unsigned with camp a week away.
Only Doughty has any star credentials as an NHL player so far. But all except for Marchand were top 10 draft picks, and Marchand was a very important player for the Boston Bruins en route to the Stanley Cup last fall — and likely a second-liner with the reigning champs this season.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/1051908–cox-holdouts-possible-for-group-of-talented-youngsters