I have little doubt that he's going to light up the Capitals several times.
Absolutely. Not to mention he's familiar with the goalies, mix that with his shot and wanting to show them they should have signed him, it could get ugly!
Absolutely. Not to mention he's familiar with the goalies, mix that with his shot and wanting to show them they should have signed him, it could get ugly!
I think WSH did want to bring him back, but he wasn't comfortable with his role (or lack thereof) there.
That being said, I do believe he hits double digit points in the 6 games this year.
I think WSH did want to bring him back, but he wasn't comfortable with his role (or lack thereof) there.
That being said, I do believe he hits double digit points in the 6 games this year.
I've heard both that it was him wanting to leave and that it was WSH not wanting to offer him a contract like 5 times each. Does anyone have a definitive source for either possibility? It certainly could be a combination of both.
I've heard both that it was him wanting to leave and that it was WSH not wanting to offer him a contract like 5 times each. Does anyone have a definitive source for either possibility? It certainly could be a combination of both.
The only confirmation that I've heard with regards to Washington wanting him back was from Semin's agent, and you can't trust agents.
the thought of us having a guy who can beat a goalie clean from 40 feet out with a wrist shot makes me a little giddy. i dont think we've ever had a more legit sniper, though an argument has to be made for both shanny and sanderson. they had none of semin's raw skill, but had lethal shots both. we've had some fancy pants guys, and guys like the aforementioned pair who could shoot, but never someone with such a deadly combination. ive never seen a more deadly offensive player in my time play for us. jstaal is all set to be one of our most dominating players, but he's likely to be a second fiddle next year to watching semin. how many highlight goals have we scored in the last decade? its embarrassing, especially when you watch some of the goals guys like this score against us. we've been so starved for legit talent skinner is a god on this team. now he can take a back seat a bit and learn to play without having so much pressure on him to be a stud so young.
while i struggle to believe the defense we have will take us far, other than the season when oneill and shanny were coming ive never had a true sense of anticipation before like this one. this will be fun to watch, regardless of success. we wont be boring again.
will muller give semin his wish and let him penalty kill? ive always been a fan of putting your most dangerous players out there. if you want to see a dman hesitate on the point put the guy most likely to turn him into a sportcenter highlight all over his butt instead of the guy most likely to chip it past him and change (spotlight on you, dwyer). our penalty kill has always been so generally conservative and boring. this year was an improvement that way, id love to see a guy like this get a shot. with so many top 6 forwards, let estaal play there. everyone who can scare a pp to mess up against. i loved LA doing it. your best players carrying you through all times. let the dogs out.
really looking forward to us vs tbl. barn burners. cats and dogs, living together. total chaos.
Not so sure on the playing styles of shaniban and sands, but it seems to me that Skinner is actually the closest we've had in recent years to resemble Semin's talent.
Dangles opponents: check
Quick, accurate shot: check
*****ing and moaning: check
Defensive liability: check
While Semin doesn't get all the credit deserved, I for one, was surprised at his interest in playin the PK. Yeah, he wanted more defensive responsibility, but it seems as though 1st line minutes aren't enough. That's fine by me, he just might be able to earn that contract through his special teams play as well. Seeing him box play (PK in Finnish) will likely send him back to the 2nd pp unit, where I am almost certain he'll get to play on his natural side.
I've never wanted an athlete to succeed more than I now want Semin to, even more than Gabbert ()
And when, not IF, but WHEN, he scores a SCF game 7 OT goal for us, I hope he rides his stick around the rink twice, and gives a finger to all the people who told him he'd never amount to anything because he wasn't born in the right country.
I still find it difficult to view Semin as anything other than a mercenary. If this is really the first stop in rebuilding his image as a team player, I look forward to being won over. Suffice it to say, I believe a lot of what was said about Semin has some degree of articulation to it. I will reserve full judgement about him until I see what he is like here, in our environment, where it's easy to rebuild your public image without the scrutiny of being asked daily questions about why you had a falling out with your last place of business. If there is any place to do CPR on his image, it's here and I hope he takes that seriously. If not, as mercenaries go, he's an effective one. Hopefully if the worst happens, he can score his goals and stay out of the way and not spoil something really special we've got going here.
It's not going to take much to endear him to the Hurricanes faithful, and that is a gift to him. But in order to keep it, he's going to have to give something of it back. I hope he's up for it.
I still find it difficult to view Semin as anything other than a mercenary. If this is really the first stop in rebuilding his image as a team player, I look forward to being won over. Suffice it to say, I believe a lot of what was said about Semin has some degree of articulation to it. I will reserve full judgement about him until I see what he is like here, in our environment, where it's easy to rebuild your public image without the scrutiny of being asked daily questions about why you had a falling out with your last place of business. If there is any place to do CPR on his image, it's here and I hope he takes that seriously. If not, as mercenaries go, he's an effective one. Hopefully if the worst happens, he can score his goals and stay out of the way and not spoil something really special we've got going here.
It's not going to take much to endear him to the Hurricanes faithful, and that is a gift to him. But in order to keep it, he's going to have to give something of it back. I hope he's up for it.
There's a lot of truth in what you typed, but if he didn't want to at least TRY to fix his image, he'd have bolted for Russia already.
The fact he stayed speaks to his character and willingness to win at the NHL level.
The fact he took less money and less term than he could've gotten in Russia speaks to his character
The fact he made all the right noises about wanting to kill penalties, and be a team player speaks to his character
The fact he took a HUGE leap, and joined a team that no one else on can speak Russian (except maybe Tlusty) speaks to his wanting to be independant and become his own player
In Washington he was always at best 2nd fiddle, and at worst anywhere from 3rd to 7th. Here he has a legitmate shot to be the best player on this team. And I'm more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, for now at least. Not even speaking as a homer, but just as a guy, who were I in his shoes, would like the same courtesy extended me.
really looking forward to us vs tbl. barn burners. cats and dogs, living together. total chaos.
Ghostbusters reference. Awesome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vagrant
I still find it difficult to view Semin as anything other than a mercenary.
Harsh, but I see where you are coming from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jussi Trollinen
The fact he took a HUGE leap, and joined a team that no one else on can speak Russian (except maybe Tlusty) speaks to his wanting to be independant and become his own player
I thought Tlusty did speak Russian. Does anyone know?
Not so sure on the playing styles of shaniban and sands, but it seems to me that Skinner is actually the closest we've had in recent years to resemble Semin's talent.
Dangles opponents: check
Quick, accurate shot: check
*****ing and moaning: check
Defensive liability: check
While Semin doesn't get all the credit deserved, I for one, was surprised at his interest in playin the PK. Yeah, he wanted more defensive responsibility, but it seems as though 1st line minutes aren't enough. That's fine by me, he just might be able to earn that contract through his special teams play as well. Seeing him box play (PK in Finnish) will likely send him back to the 2nd pp unit, where I am almost certain he'll get to play on his natural side.
How is a player that is a plus 92 a defensive liability?
Caps fan, albeit distant....I didn't get to watch as many games as the locals, but here is my 2 cents.
+92 and did a great job on pk for Caps. Especially when Fedorov was playing with him.
Seems to me the more responsibility he was given with the Caps, the better he played. When his minutes were cut, frustration set in, and he would make more dumb penalties.
I am curious to see how he does on his own (without Ovechkin), and if he tries to speak more English.
Not so sure on the playing styles of shaniban and sands, but it seems to me that Skinner is actually the closest we've had in recent years to resemble Semin's talent.
Dangles opponents: check
Quick, accurate shot: check
*****ing and moaning: check
Defensive liability: check
While Semin doesn't get all the credit deserved, I for one, was surprised at his interest in playin the PK. Yeah, he wanted more defensive responsibility, but it seems as though 1st line minutes aren't enough. That's fine by me, he just might be able to earn that contract through his special teams play as well. Seeing him box play (PK in Finnish) will likely send him back to the 2nd pp unit, where I am almost certain he'll get to play on his natural side.
How is a player that is a plus 92 a defensive liability?
Not saying he is or isn't a defensive liability, but the +/- wouldn't show that. Especially considering Semin's own natural scoring talent and the talent of Backstrom/OV/Green around him.
In this case, +/- simply shows that they score more than they allow. And back when the Caps had a more much more offensive-minded system (where the vast majority of that high +/- comes from), that shouldn't surprise anyone.
Take any of the Caps major stars during that time and their +/- is ridiculously high, because of those two years where they were outscoring opponents 8-1.
Not saying he is or isn't a defensive liability, but the +/- wouldn't show that. Especially considering Semin's own natural scoring talent and the talent of Backstrom/OV/Green around him.
In this case, +/- simply shows that they score more than they allow. And back when the Caps had a more much more offensive-minded system (where the vast majority of that high +/- comes from), that shouldn't surprise anyone.
Take any of the Caps major stars during that time and their +/- is ridiculously high, because of those two years where they were outscoring opponents 8-1.
True, but look at last season where they weren't scoring gobs of goals.
Well Russian is taught in schools in Czech Republic but I don't know if Tlusty speaks it.
Even if he isn't fluent, I'd imagine he could half ass his way through it. The vocabulary between all the slavic languages is somewhat similar, and being born behind the iron curtain, means he was probably exposed to it more than he'd have'd liked haha
How vagrant views semin as a mercenary is how I always viewed Whitney and Stillman. I get it, though I think with semin being younger, and us being only his second team that maybe if he works out and stays with us it won't feel that way.
I think the idea of "mercenary" is not incorrect for Whitney, Stillman, or Semin. But what's wrong with that? These guys are all professionals. They play for teams that pay them. Same can be said for every player in the NHL to an extent.
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