George McPhee: Alexander Semin will have the best year

Alexander Semin/Dmitry Chesnokov

I didn't want my previous post from Media Day to be too long. Moreover, I really wanted to dedicate more words to Alexander Semin. Why?

As many have noted over the years, that Semin is an enigma and a lot of fans have a love-hate relationship with him. You know that he can win any game for the Washington Capitals single-handed. At the same time he is prone to taking an unnecessary penalty here and there.

Someone told me earlier this week: "If you take Alexander Semin's skill, Alex Ovechkin's determination and drive and mash it all together, you will have the best hockey player in the world."

This is a contract year for Semin. He wants to play for the Capitals and he wants to win the Cup with this team. Only 25 years old, he is considered a veteran on the Capitals, having been with the team since before the infamous lockout.

Yesterday, Alexander Semin (and I translating) took to the podium and addressed the media:

But before he answered questions from Washington media, I had a chance to chat with him alone.

There will certainly be some line changes this season that will affect you. Have you spoken with coach Boudreau about your role?

"No, not yet. I have only just arrived back in DC."

How did the medical go? How is your back? I remember you had some trouble last year.

"Yes, the medical went well. I feel really great. Yes, I did have problems with my back last year. But right now it is good. The problem was not chronic. I had therapy and it healed well."

Segrei Fedorov is gone. A lot of people noted that your game changed for the better when he arrived in Washington.

"I noticed it too, of course. Simply because I started to get a lot more points and started taking less penalties. It just so happened last year that I was on a roll when I got injured. And it is always difficult to get back to form. Everyone thinks that it's easy to come back. But it actually takes quite some time to get back to the condition you were when you got injured."

How much will you miss Fedorov?

"It was so easy and comfortable playing with Feds. I knew exactly how he played the game, I knew exactly where to go so he would pass. I don't know who I am going to play now. I will play with whoever the coach will tell me to play with."

It is your contract year. You have to play great and score a lot. Would playing with Fedorov help you?

"He left, and it didn't depend on me. They couldn't agree on terms. I would love playing with him."

Did you set any personal goals for this season? Maybe break some personal records?

"Of course I want to score a lot of goals, get a lot of points. I also want to simply play good hockey. I want the team to win. This is what I am aiming for this season."

What is happening with your contract? Have you started negotiating with the Capitals?

"Not yet."

Have you been asked whether you want to stay?

"Right now, let it be between the team and myself. I am not going to say anything about the contract negotiations right now."

It says 'Get Ready. It's Our Time' on your t-shirt...

"I think it was the same last year [Semin said with a smile]. We were just a bit unlucky. We'll try harder this year. It would be nice to meet the President with the Cup."

The Washington Capitals may have quite a situation on their hands with both Alexander Semin's and Nicklas Backstrom's contracts expiring this summer. Will the Capitals have to make a choice and not try to 'chase two rabbits?' I spoke with Capitals' General Manager George McPhee:

I would like to ask you about Sergei Fedorov leaving and the impact he had on Alexander Semin. Do you think Semin's game will change now that Fedorov is gone?

"No, I think Alexander Semin's going to have the best year he's ever had. He may have developed anyway, without Sergei. But I think it was certainly nice to have Sergei here for a year and a half. He has helped these kids a lot. But Alex is his own man now. He was really terrific early in the season last year leading the league in scoring before he got hurt. So, hopefully he'll get off to that kind of start again and lead the league for a long time."

Alexander Semin, as you mentioned, led the league last year and is overall a great contributor for the Capitals. But he got hurt a couple of times last season. How worried are you he may get injured again this season?

"I am not worried about it. Players get injured from time to time. Sometimes they have a season when they have lots of injuries, and sometimes they have a season when they don't have any. Those are the things we can't control. So, we try not to worry about them too much."

Semin is one of the veterans on this team. Will you try to keep him after this season?

"Sure, yeah. We'll talk to him. We'd like to have him here for a long time. He's a big part of our team. And we like him a lot. So, yes, we'll make an effort to make that happen."

Have you already started talking about a contract with his agent?

"Well, we don't really talk [to the media] about contracts, negotiations and anything else like that. It never seems to help the process. So, I avoid these kinds of questions."

You also have Nicklas Backstrom's contract to think about. He is a marque player as well. Are you worried about tying up up a lot of money into three or four players?

"No. They are good players. They are worth investing in."

After the interviews were over, Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin took to the ice to shoot on (imaginary) goal and just skate around with the puck. Something tells me these two will compete for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy this year.