According to Russian news outlet Sports.ru, SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL is set to begin contract talks with Washington Capitals forward Alex Semin.
The former 40-goal scorer is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and has indicated his time in Washington is over. While reports have suggested Semin’s desire is to remain in the NHL, a recent interview with Sport-Express suggested playing in the KHL is also a viable option:
Question: “Is there any clarity on where your career will resume in the next season?”
Semin: “I can’t say anything concrete at this time. I’m waiting for July 1st, until the negotiations in the NHL open, for now I am unemployed.”
Question: “Are your priorities in Russia or North America?”
Semin: “I can’t answer. I don’t know.”
SKA general manager Alexei Kasatonov -- who played nearly 400 games in the NHL with New Jersey, Anaheim, St. Louis and Boston -- had previously told Sports-Express that his club plans to pursue Semin when the free agency window opens.
It’ll be interesting to see how negotiations play out. Recent days have seen a flurry of NHLers depart for the KHL -- Erik Christensen, Sami Lepisto, Curtis Sanford -- though none with the star power and talent level of Semin, who has averaged 31 goals per season since the lockout.
Of note, SKA is home to a number of ex-NHLers including Maxim Afinogenov, Vitaly Vishnevski, Dmitri Kalinin, Denis Grebeshkov and Petr Prucha.
