On July 1st, Alex Semin will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. According to his agent Mark Gandler, the Russian winger has no intention of re-signing with the only NHL team he’s ever played for.
“It was good while it lasted,” Gandler told ESPN’s Craig Custance shortly after the season. “With the lack of playoff success, with the direction they are going. They decided to change directions. That’s within their rights. Alex doesn’t fit into that system obviously.”
Semin — perhaps not on the same page as his agent — told reporters at World Championships, “There was no talk at all that I am not going to sign with the Capitals for sure. I have not talked to them about leaving.”
Meanwhile, Semin continues to wear Capitals gear wherever he goes. During the World Championships, he could be seen wearing a Caps hat everywhere, and earlier this week, he did an interview with local Krasynoyarsk TV station Afontovo and wore his favorite Capitals rubber bracelet (shown above).
In that interview with sports anchor Sergei Kuzavkov, Sasha Minor dished about what it was like to score two goals in the gold-medal game of the World Championships, his well-documented struggles with English, and his girlfriend.
Igor Kleyner has the translation below.
