I am glad everyone got a kick out of my morning rant.
For the record I like Semin. He helped me through the dark years, watching him beat 3 4 sometimes 5 guys to score his insane goals. He almost epitomizes individual play since no one can ever hang with him, and he never gets a top flight center. But we don't even see that me game anymore. And he just doesn't fit on our perennial lame duck 2nd line.
The only logic I can get out of semin's toi is dale limited him because he's on Mp's line. An mp needs his toi managed.... And dale's too much of a dumb ass as not to double shift him with SOB line here and there.
How long did it take him to double shift ovi on 4th? Like 30+ games
Something that's annoyed me is that recently Semin's habit of holding the puck too long as he comes up the boards from the offensive corner has resurfaced. He won't put the puck back into the cycle, instead carrying up the boards until he finally gets double-teamed by the winger covering the point, at which point he tries to dump back down the boards. Problem is there are now two defenders on the boards and one of them gets it every time. Or he gets stripped by the double-team. Best case is the puck just gets knocked away to center and the weak side defenseman is able to retrieve it.
Did you know that Ovechkin is scoring at a 48 goal pace over the past 41 games (half season)?
Guess who is scoring at a 20 goal pace over his last 41 games.
7.5 for ten years would probably be pretty close. I'd almost try to go a little higher and take a year off. The Caps not going down for a while, Quebecs coming soon and will make it even higher
Who cares spending 6 or 7 million on Semin for the sake of just spending money isn't worth it
It's for the sake of the ability to dress a forward lineup that can at least be passed off as NHL-quality.
I like Semin a lot, but I'm fine with him leaving. His production in the last two years frustrates me. But you can't let him go without replacing him. 2 Joel Wards or 1.5 Brooks Laichs absolutely do not add up to one Semin, regardless of his diminished production. There has to be a plan to replace him. I'd rather replace him with a great 1bC who can be the primary player on the second line, but Parise would be acceptable. Getting that center is much easier said that done. If Semin's gone without a replacement, this team's offense is going to be absolutely gruesome.
This actually looks like a plan I can get behind, but some of those choices on defense are a little sketchy. I know there's a salary cap, but have you considered signing Dennis Wideman to play 1LD and 2RD? He usually plays on the right but players of that quality usually adjust pretty well. I just think that would push the D from decent to great.
