Alexei Yashin Alexei Valeryevich Yashin ( ; born November 5 , 1973 ) is a Russia n professional ice hockey player . He is currently a member of CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . Yashin last played for SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL and has previously played in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) for the Ottawa Senators ( 1993 – 2001 ) and New York Islanders ( 2001 – 2007 ) . Playing career . Ottawa Senators , 1993 – 2001 . Yashin received his initial fame for being the first draft pick in the history of the expansion Ottawa Senators ( 2nd overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft ) . After remaining in Russia for the 1992 – 93 season with the Dynamo Moscow , Yashin arrived in Ottawa for the 1993 – 94 NHL season , along with Ottawa ' s other highly touted young draft selection , Alexandre Daigle . Yashin soon eclipsed Daigle as the team ' s brightest young star , scoring 79 points in his rookie season and earning a nomination for the Calder Trophy . Subsequent seasons saw him emerge as a star player in the NHL , helping Ottawa make the playoffs for the first time in 1997 . In 1998 , he scored a key overtime goal against the New Jersey Devils that helped the Senators win their first ever playoff series . Yashin was eventually named team captain of the Senators , and the pinnacle of his career came in the 1998 – 99 season when he scored 94 points . At the conclusion of the season , Yashin was runner - up for both the Hart Trophy for the NHL ' s most valuable player , as well as being named an NHL Second Team All - Star . Yashin ' s regular season success did not carry over into the playoffs , and the Senators were swept in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres . Off the ice , however , Yashin ' s time in Ottawa was tumultuous . Senators ' management initially viewed Daigle , who had been selected first overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft , as the franchise ' s cornerstone player . While they hesitated in giving Yashin a five year , $ 4 million contract , they signed Daigle to one of the largest rookie contracts in history , and touted him over Yashin for the Calder Trophy at the conclusion of the 1993 – 94 season . Several nasty contract disputes later developed between Yashin and the team , beginning when Yashin refused to honor his contract at the onset of the 1995 – 96 NHL season , unless the terms were renegotiated to make him the team ' s highest paid player . The holdout caused many Senators ' fans to sour on him . Some commentators have sympathized with Yashin ' s position in the dispute , as Daigle had struggled on the ice , in contrast with Yashin ' s performance . Yashin ' s offensive numbers exceeded Daigle ' s in every season they played together on the Senators . In 1998 , Yashin initially pledged to give a million dollars to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa , the Centre ' s largest ever donation . The Senators had earlier collaborated with the NAC to produce the 1998 – 99 season program titled as " " Symphony on Ice " " , which featured head coach Jacques Martin on the front cover wearing a tuxedo and waving a conductor ' s baton , while NAC music director Pinchas Zukerman was shown in the Senators ' locker room with a # 00 Senators jersey . When the NAC learned that one of the conditions of this donation was for them to pay Yashin ' s parents $ 425 , 000 in consulting fees for " loosely defined " services , they balked and Yashin cancelled the donation . The failed arrangement was a public relations disaster for Yashin and his family , and served to further damage Yashin ' s already strained relationship with the public in Ottawa . Yashin ' s relationship with the Ottawa Senators reached a new low after the 1998 – 99 season . Yashin refused to honor the final year of his contract and demanded a raise ( he would have earned $ 3 . 6 million USD that year , compared to other star centerman like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic who made $ 6 – 7 million ) . When the Senators refused , he demanded a trade on the advice of his agent , Mark Gandler . This was the third time Yashin demanded a new contract during his five years with the team . The Senators refused to trade Yashin , instead stripping him of his captaincy and handing it to Daniel Alfredsson . When Yashin still refused to report , the Senators suspended him for the rest of the 1999 – 2000 NHL season on November 10 , with the full support of the NHL . Yashin attempted to sign with a team in Switzerland , but the International Ice Hockey Federation suspended him from playing internationally until the dispute was resolved . After the season , an NHL arbitrator refused to grant Yashin the free agent status he claimed to have earned , upholding the Senators ' claim that Yashin owed them the final season of his contract if he did return to the NHL . It was another public relations disaster for Yashin . Yashin returned to the Senators for the 2000 – 01 season . Despite being jeered by the crowd in every NHL arena , including Ottawa , Yashin had a solid regular season offensively . The Senators entered the post - season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and were paired against the seventh - seeded Toronto Maple Leafs . However , the Leafs swept the Senators out of the playoffs . Yashin himself had a poor series while being shadowed by the Leafs ' Shayne Corson . Yashin did not attend the final team meeting , held after the Senator ' s early playoff exit . New York Islanders , 2001 – 2007 . On draft day , 2001 , Yashin was sent to the New York Islanders for defenseman Zdeno Chára , forward Bill Muckalt and the second overall draft selection , which the Senators used to draft highly - touted centerman Jason Spezza . Islanders ' GM Mike Milbury promptly re - signed Yashin to an enormous 10 - year , $ 87 . 5 million USD contract . Although his contract was reduced by 24 percent due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA ) signed in 2005 , Yashin was widely considered to be grossly overpaid and virtually untradeable . After joining the Islanders , Yashin ' s point production declined . While he helped his new team make the playoffs for the first time in eight years in 2001 – 02 , the Islanders were still unable to advance beyond the first round . The Isles bowed out to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a hard - fought seven game series in 2001 – 02 and then lost in five games to Ottawa in 2002 – 03 and the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003 – 04 . Yashin ' s play was generally praised in 2001 – 02 , as he carried the team ' s offense for stretches during the season . The following years , his mediocre point production led people both inside and outside the Islanders organization to question his effort and salary . Prior to the 2005 – 06 season , the Islanders lost several key players to free agency or retirement and significantly retooled their roster . Captain Michael Peca was traded to free up room to sign free agents such as high - scoring wing Miroslav Šatan and Yashin became team captain . Journalists suggested that the team had finally been built around Yashin and would sink or swim with his performance . A common defense of Yashin ' s decreased offensive output had been the lack of a legitimate first line winger to play with him . Satan and Yashin showed signs of chemistry early in the season , but generally produced disappointing results . When Satan was moved off Yashin ' s line , his offensive output increased markedly . After the season ended with the Islanders out of the playoffs for the first time since his arrival , Yashin acknowledged that he needed to score more . After the ' season ended , there had been speculation that the Islanders would buy out his contract and rebuild in a different image , but the team decided to retain him . An October 2006 article in " Newsday " suggested that Yashin must " make a difference " in 2006 – 07 or he will be bought out at the end of the season . By the 20 game mark , Yashin was earning praise in the local media for the first time in recent memory , and his point totals were among the league leaders . On Saturday , November 25 , 2006 , Yashin suffered a knee sprain after taking a knee - to - knee hit . He initially returned after a few weeks , but his effectiveness was reduced , and the team revealed that the knee was not 100 % . Early in February , Islanders coach Ted Nolan decided to rest Yashin until his knee was completely healthy , which prompted questions about whether team still had faith in Yashin and whether the re - injury was legitimate or a pretext for benching him . Yashin finally returned to the line - up on March 8 , 2007 , and posted 13 points ( five goals and eight assists ) in 16 games helping the Islanders clinch the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference . In the first round series against the Buffalo Sabres , Yashin registered no points in five games and at times was demoted to the fourth line by coach Ted Nolan . The Islanders decided to buy out the remainder of Yashin ' s contract in June 2007 , according to a report in " Newsday " . The contract was bought out for $ 17 . 63 million , or two - thirds of the amount left on the contract , to be paid out over eight years at a rate of $ 2 . 2 million per year . Post Islanders , 2007 – " present " . Perhaps surprisingly , Yashin ' s agent , Mark Gandler , claimed that his client was keen on a return to Ottawa once his contract had been bought out by the Islanders . " It ' s a new chapter and we ' ll be calling Ottawa for sure , " Gandler was quoted in the " Ottawa Sun " as saying , adding " He ' d love to return to Ottawa , in fact . " However , the Senators showed little to no interest in bringing Yashin back into the fold , and Gandler was subsequently " not happy with " contract offers from various NHL teams , resulting in threats of his client returning to Russia to resume his hockey career . On July 20 , 2007 , Yashin signed a one - year contract with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Russian Super League . On May 29 , 2009 , it was announced that he had signed with SKA St . Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League ( KHL ) . This news came several months after he helped Lokomotiv Yaroslavl reach the seventh game of the Gagarin Cup final , which they ultimately lost 1 – 0 . That season , he also led the team in both regular season as well playoff scoring , with 47 points ( 21 goals and 26 assists ) in 56 regular season games , and 18 points ( 7 goals and 11 assists ) in 19 playoff games . During the summer of 2011 , the New York Islanders and Yashin discussed the possibility of Yashin returning to play for the team in the 2011 - 12 season . Ultimately , the two sides failed to come to terms and Yashin subsequently signed a one - year deal with CSKA Moscow for the 2011 – 12 season . International play . On the international stage , Yashin has represented his native Russia in the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 , 2002 , and 2006 Winter Olympics . He has won Olympic silver ( 1998 ) and bronze ( 2002 ) medals . Personal . Yashin is in a long - term relationship with actress and former supermodel Carol Alt .