Islanders buy out Yashin for $17.63M

Bowing to pressure from many fronts, owner Charles Wang decides to eat the final four years of the captain's deal.

Facing a potential mutiny from Islanders fans, owner Charles Wang bit the bullet and made the decision Tuesday to buy out the remaining four years of captain Alexei Yashin's 10-year contract, Newsday has learned exclusively. Some might view it as the owner admitting a costly mistake, but second-year coach Ted Nolan described it as a chance for a "new beginning" that might restore the fans' faith in the franchise.

The last four seasons of the $87.5-million contract Yashin signed after the Islanders traded for him in 2001 were valued at $26.45 million. Under the NHL collective-bargaining agreement, Wang is permitted to pay two-thirds of that amount ($17.63 million) over the next eight years to buy it out. The salary-cap hit will be approximately $2.2 million per season over that time.