Trade star winger Alexander Semin? It would be a bold move. Semin, after all, gives the Caps that extra dimension, playing primarily on the second line. With a world-class winger waiting on the bench, the opposition can’t focus squarely on Alex Ovechkin‘s top line.
But there are reasons to make a move. Semin is a restricted free agent at the end of next season. His $4.6 million salary-cap hit is reasonable now. But that will change. Either Semin gets a long-term contract extension from the Caps or, next summer, he is signed to an offer sheet by another team or goes to arbitration and gets a big raise.
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This is a player who remains an enigma. He has missed 19 and 20 games the last two seasons and his ability to play with pain is sometimes questioned. Another issue: any young Russian player — especially one as mercurial as Semin — is a flight risk. If a team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League offers a boatload of cash would he turn it down? Maybe. The chance to play with Ovechkin and contend for a Stanley Cup is a strong lure. But could anyone blame a 25-year-old for returning to his homeland for more money? It happened last summer to the Nashville Predators, who lost promising winger Alexander Radulov to the KHL.
So how about Semin for forward Dany Heatley, 28, who just this week demanded a trade from the Ottawa Senators. All things being equal, Semin is more valuable because he’s three years younger and has a lesser cap hit than Heatley’s $7.5 million. But Heatley has also scored 39 or more goals five times and is far more durable.
It’s close to fair value. But it’s hard to see how the trade could happen — even if the Caps lose free agents Sergei Fedorov ($4 million), Viktor Kozlov ($2.5 million) and Donald Brashear ($1 million). That’s $7.5 million off the salary cap. But swap Heatley and Semin’s salaries and there goes $2.9 million of that savings with the rest needed to fill out the roster, pay this year’s restricted free agents and keep space for the trade deadline.
The Verdict » Not yet. See how extension talks go and wait until the trade deadline before making a decision.
