The Ottawa Senators joined the NHL to start the 1992-93 season, and like all expansion teams, they participated in the NHL Entry Draft before their inaugural season. They landed the second overall selection in the 1992 Draft and selected Russian star, Alexei Yashin. Little did they know at the time, this selection would end up playing a major impact on plenty of things, including Clarke MacArthur’s health, Timo Meier joining the Devils, cap troubles for the Senators in 2023 and the Toronto Maple Leafs winning their first playoff series in 19 years.
Yashin reported to the top Russian league for his first season after being drafted and had a strong showing there, posting 22 points in 27 games while adding a point-per-game performance in their 10-game playoff run. After that, he joined the NHL and was a bright spot in some of the darkest times of Senators’ history. The team wasn’t very good during the mid-1990s, but as the team got better, so did Yashin.
Yashin recorded 491 points in 507 games with the Senators before ultimately being traded due to contract disputes. If you want to read more about him and his breakup with the Senators, you can check that out here, but this one will be about what happened next.
Yashin Dealt to Islanders for Chara and Spezza
The Senators decided that trading Yashin was the right move after suspending him for the 1999-00 season. He did return for one more season with the team in 2000-01 but was dealt to the New York Islanders after that. The trade tree dies pretty quickly for the Islanders as they ultimately bought him out in 2007. It wasn’t strictly performance-based, but the team decided they needed to prioritize signing Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth. Yashin did have a high-quality tenure with the Isles, recording 290 points in 346 games with the club. This ended up being the last NHL hockey he played.
As for the Senators, this return meant everything for them. Zdeno Chara and the second overall selection in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft were the headliners, and they added Bill Muckalt as well.
Muckalt played just one season with the Senators, recording eight points in 70 games before becoming a free agent and signing with the Minnesota Wild.
Chara, as a Senator, gets lost in history, but he was a great player for the team and made a huge (no pun intended) impact on the blue line during his time in Ottawa. Of course, he will always be…
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