Semin Out of DC

[PensFanInDC]

http://espn.go.com/nhl/conversations/_/id/7929902/agent-says-washington-capitals-alexander-semin-headed-free-agency

According to Semin's agent Mark Gandler, the skilled forward has no intentions of signing a contract extension with the Capitals and plans on becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

[canaan]

Fla?

[columbia]

NYI
OTT
WPG
FLA

[brwi]

Semin has hurt feelings over his role in Washington.

Nashville has the money and a chance to go all headcase if they want to. Sign Semin, re-up Radulov and both Kostitsyn's and....yeah, I don't see them doing all that.

[Steve]

He wants his role expanded, to killing penalties?

Did I just read that?

Not only is he the last player on that team, or any team, that I'd want killing penalties - his lazy and stupid play, was so often the reason his team was shorthanded to begin with.

Come on Semin, just one more contract with the Caps! Do it GMGM.

[MRandall25]

Maybe the lazy, stupid play was happening because he didn't want to be there, and he wasn't getting the role(s) he wanted?

[penny lane]

Alex Semin for Patrick Kane!

[npv708]

Teams I wouldn't be surprised to go after Semin:

- Calgary
- Detroit
- Nashville
- Philadelphia
- Montreal

[canaan]

Where would Philly get the cap space for him?

[JS©]

I don't care what that article says.

I can see him heading back to Russia, especially if that thing about a salary cap exemption for returning NHLers is true.

good riddance jiz.

Spoiler:

it's ok, his teammates call him that

[PensFanInDC]

KHL for sure

[Gaucho]

I heard he wants to become a drummer.

[Kraftster]

He wants his role expanded, to killing penalties?

Did I just read that?

Not only is he the last player on that team, or any team, that I'd want killing penalties - his lazy and stupid play, was so often the reason his team was shorthanded to begin with.

Come on Semin, just one more contract with the Caps! Do it GMGM.

He was actually a reasonably effective penalty killer in the early Bruce Boudreau era.

I actually think the feelings regarding Semin have gone a little bit too far, to where he's actually better and less russian than the average lgp perception.

I could definitely see Calgary and Montreal going hard after Semin.

[Mr. Colby]

If Detroit somehow doesn't get Parise, I could honestly see them taking a chance on him. Detroit always seems to straighten guys out, and could you imagine he and Datsyuk on a line? They'd have the puck the entirety of every shift.

[Steve]

He wants his role expanded, to killing penalties?

Did I just read that?

Not only is he the last player on that team, or any team, that I'd want killing penalties - his lazy and stupid play, was so often the reason his team was shorthanded to begin with.

Come on Semin, just one more contract with the Caps! Do it GMGM.

He was actually a reasonably effective penalty killer in the early Bruce Boudreau era.

I actually think the feelings regarding Semin have gone a little bit too far, to where he's actually better and less russian than the average lgp perception.

I could definitely see Calgary and Montreal going hard after Semin.

I agree, the criticism has gone too far - i'm definately guilty of that. I really dislike this player.

I'm not sure about the penalty killing though. It might be ok for a Tuesday night game against the Islanders in November. I just cant see any NHL coach sending him out to kill a penalty in the postseason, when so much is on the line.

The dude is so skilled, if he wanted to be an elite penalty killer, I think he could be. But there is the problem.

[steelhammer]

Semin is one of the most underrated players I've ever seen in the league. He has one of the most unique set of hockey skills:

Shot: One of the hardest and most accurate wrist shots in the league. Ditto for his slap shot, and that is unusual for a player to be that accurate with both shots. He obviously isn't a strong guy, and that tells you his technique is almost perfect.

Puck Handling: He is a total dangler with the puck. Great at carrying it through the neutral zone.

Defense: 52, 62, 61, and 73 takeaways in the last 4 seasons. Very strong numbers for a winger.

This goal was pretty good:

[DudeMan2766]

good riddance jiz.

Spoiler:

it's ok, his teammates call him that

lol his teamates call Semin "jiz" Thats one of the more vulgar things I think I can remember LOL

[Tomas]

good riddance jiz.

Spoiler:

it's ok, his teammates call him that

lol his teamates call Semin "jiz" Thats one of the more offensive things I think I can remember LOL

This is why I don't understand the agents/handlers of some Russian players. I'd assume that it's their job to make sure that their clients have marketable names. In case of Semin, it would have been so easy - the "e" in Semin's Russian alphabet name has actually two dots above the letter, making the pronunciation "YO". So, his real name is actually pronounced Syomin (and often spelled Sjomin in non-English languages). Had Semin's people actually pushed that name from the start, their client's life would have been considerably easier...

[Similarly, it took like 2 years for Varlamov's people to switch his name from Semen to Simeon, i.e. the Anglicized version of his real name Semyon...]

[Sarcastic]

Semin is one of the most underrated players I've ever seen in the league.

Skill-wise, yeah. I think he may be the most deceptive skater in the league. I never know what direction he's going to go when he has the puck on his stick. Wonder if we could toughen him up. That's probably all he needs.

[IanMoran]

Where does this semin lazy thing come from? Seriously, some of lgp is as bad as don cherry

[Idoit40fans]

There was definitely a period of time when he was lazy. That time was before the 09-10 season. I really like Semin...yup.

[darkstar57]

Where does this semin lazy thing come from? Seriously, some of lgp is as bad as don cherry

gets lumped in with ovie since they are both russians and he disappears during the playoffs

[Rylan]

Semin had a fantastic playoffs as all around player. In the Boston series he was blocking shots like a boss and just playing solid defensive hockey. Any team would benefit from having him on their team.

[ville5]

I think the Raiders will sign him.

[ffemtreed]

Where does this semin lazy thing come from? Seriously, some of lgp is as bad as don cherry

The problem here is a lot of people label players are lazy who are unwilling to battle in the corner and shy away from physical play and pretty much become perimeter players. I think that is what happened in Semin's case.