Semin at training camp in 2003.

As a longtime Washington Capitals fan, I’ve had the sometimes rough duty of sticking up for a certain player (Alexander Semin) who, incidentally, was the main reason I became a Caps fan back in 2003. My first Capitals game on the 12th of November 2003 gave me my first glimpse of him. I fell in love with his playing style immediately. His stick-handling skills were enchanting and, to this day, he still makes my jaw drop at some of the dekes he can pull rushing up the ice. His lone goal in the 7-1 shellacking of the Carolina Hurricanes during my inaugural game was a sneaky little deke around a veteran defenseman and a total undressing of the goalie. (Check it out for yourself.)

Semin joined the team at one of the most trying times for the Capitals organization. That year the team was dismantled at the trade deadline. Fans bid farewell to iconic winger Peter Bondra, as well as Robert Lang, Sergei Gonchar, and the man fans love to hate: Jaromir Jagr. At the end of the 2003-04 season, majority owner Ted Leonsis declared the team was going to rebuild from within. He started later that summer by selecting Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

By all accounts, Semin’s rookie season was anything but pleasant. Rumored dissension inside the Caps locker room did not create a healthy atmosphere for the young Russian, who was still trying to adjust to life in North America. And, his lack of English skills created a natural barrier between him and most of the team. Semin missed the final game of the regular season, oversleeping and missing the team flight out of Washington. When the season ended, he was sent to Portland, Maine to play for the Capitals’ American Hockey League farm team, the Pirates, to help with their unsuccessful Calder Cup run. Semin ended the season with 10 goals and 22 points in 52 games, playing mostly on the third and fourth lines.

Semin plays for Lada Togliatti of the Russian Super League.

When the NHL labor dispute ended and the 2005-06 season was on the horizon, Semin was expected to return to the Capitals for the final year of his entry-level contract. However, Semin and his agent, Mark Gandler, were sued by the Capitals for more contract violations after he signed a 1-year extension with Lada. Gandler managed to have the suit nullified by claiming Semin’s contract with Lada was satisfying his two-year military obligation to the Russian Federation.

Whether it really was Russian military obligations or something else is unclear, but Lada gave him numerous incentives to stay. He was given a car, an apartment and a $2 million (USD) contract to play for the team. At just 21 years old, $2 million was much more than the chump change the Capitals were offering, and for that reason alone, I can’t blame him for wanting to stay in Russia where he also didn’t have to deal with a struggling team and language barrier.

Semin’s decision ultimately backfired as he fell victim to the unstable system in which the RSL governed itself by before the league revamped in 2007. Semin was let go by Lada a month into the season as the team salary was cut by 50 percent. The team avoided folding altogether by letting go of multiple players and loaning some out to other RSL teams.

Semin (in gold and blue) skates with Khimik.

At the conclusion of his two-year stint back in Russia, Semin managed to mend fences with Capitals management and returned to Washington for the 2006-07 season, signing a 2-year deal.

Semin may have returned to Washington ready to get his NHL career back on track, but much of the Capitals’ fan base and media were more than a little annoyed by his antics. Critics saw Semin’s “military obligations” as a farce and Semin faced a backlash from fans who felt they had been spurned. He was labeled as the stereotypical “Mother Russia” player from then on out. His actions prior to rejoining the team reduced his popularity among the core Caps fans and heavily tarnished his reputation.  To this day he is still seen by many fans as a ticking (two-time) Russian defector.

Semin did his best to let his play do the talking where his still limited English could not. He amassed 38 goals and 73 points in the 2006-07 season. While his efforts were a step in the right direction, his reputation among fans was still fairly dismal. He was routinely criticized for his lazy style of play and his tendency to take costly penalties.

In 2007-08, Semin only notched 26 goals and 42 points in an injury-plagued year. The 2008-09 season saw Semin struggle yet again with injuries, but he finished with a career-high 79 points and a dramatic improvement in the plus/minus column at +25.

Semin and Alexander Ovechkin seem ready to take over the NHL -- one city at a time.

In 2009-10, Semin showed he was beginning to mature as a player, scoring a career-high 40 goals. Management took notice of Semin’s improved play and signed him to a 1-year contract extension that will expire when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2010-11 season.

Most of the ill will from his controversial return to the Capitals has dissipated, but his faults in the eyes of fans have shifted to his poor performance in the playoffs. Much of the anger stems from the playoff embarrassment the Capitals suffered against the Montreal Canadiens last April. Semin ended the series scoreless, though he pounded 40 shots on goal. His lack of desire to talk to the North American media and his insistence on not saying three words in English (at least publicly), add fuel to the arguments of those who want Semin out of D.C.

Now we find ourselves nearly a quarter of the way into the 2010-11 season, and Semin is atop leaderboard, outplaying his fellow Russian teammate, Alex Ovechkin. He has already scored two hat tricks this season and shows no sign of letting up. This is, after all, a contract year for Semin and while his out-of-this-world play is beyond entertaining for Caps fans to watch, it is bittersweet. With his elevated level of play, will come elevated salary expectations — expectations the Capitals simply cannot afford with the current roster and the possibility of a lower salary cap.

In a recent interview with Russia’s Sport Express, Semin made a simple statement on his future in Washington that might put to rest the argument among Caps fans on Semin’s agenda:

“I don’t agree that Washington can not afford me. If I want to play here, we’ll resolve it.”

Semin shows off his signature style.

The fans who cheer for him, love him for his dazzling performances on the ice, as well as his flamboyant off-ice personality. We look forward to his zany, trademark facial expressions. We love to see what sort of remarkable outfit he’ll throw together (we can assume these wild designer looks cost him thousands of dollars, yet they also make us wonder if he got dressed in the dark or in the wrong house). Whether he’s streaking across the ice or cruising down the road in one of his many ultra-expensive sports cars, we can’t help but take notice of him.

Perhaps this season will finally put an end to the disagreement about Semin among Capitals fans, as we all fall in love with the quirky Russian.

Here’s my bold prediction.

Semin is in the best shape of his life and is entering the prime of his career. He will reach the 45 goal plateau and, if he stays on his current pace, will break 50. I expect him to sign with the Capitals for $6.5-$7 million a season for at least five years. If we are lucky and Semin truly wants to stay and play alongside Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin for the remainder of their decade-long contracts, he may take a hometown discount and sign for $6 million a season for a longer contract.

Bottom line: I don’t see Semin leaving the Capitals. Period.

Photos: Alexander Semin rookie year, and Semin and Alex Ovechkin from Getty Images; Semin with Lada Togliatti from The Associated Press; Semin with Khimik from the team’s official team site; Semin portrait by Kyle Christy Photgraphy.

The Atlanta Thrashers mascot heckles Alex Ovechkin.

After a lengthy summer of twiddling our thumbs, Washington Capitals fans finally got to see their boys back in action Friday evening. There was much anticipation surrounding the regular season opener in Atlanta against the Thrashers and their new head coach Craig Ramsey. Most fans expected a blowout win to start the season. The excitement and anticipation was met with a sub-par performance by the Capitals and a disheartening 2-4 loss in Blueland and the news that the Capitals No. 1 goalie, Semyon Varlamov, had been placed on injured reserve.

Caps fans never fear! This team has a knack for winning at home and for putting on shows that won’t soon be forgotten. That was certainly the case the next day back home in D.C. where the Caps pummeled the New Jersey Devils 7-2, with Michal Neuvirth in net.  The last give minutes of the game were perhaps the most exciting, as the Capitals took the pummeling from the scoreboard to the faces and bodies of the Devils players. Not often in the “new NHL” do you see five fights in one game — with four of them being within 10 seconds of playing time.

Out of all the frays, New Jersey Devil Pierre-Luc Leblond got himself a one game suspension for instigating a fight with the Caps’ Swedish Rookie, Marcus Johansson, in the final five minutes of the 3rd period. This sparked quite a bit of outrage on the Caps bench as the young Swede refused to drop the gloves with Leblond seconds earlier before being chased across the ice and lassoed to the ground by the collar of his jersey by the Devils Forward. Capitals Rookie Defensemen, John Carlson, willingly stepped in for his teammate and found himself hitting the showers early because of it. Caps Head Coach Bruce Boudreau tried his best to keep the rest of his players from hopping over the boards before it turned into an all out bench clearing brawl.

Mike Green taking a swing at Devil's Captain Ilya Kovalchuk. Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.

Not only did the evening nearly end in an all out brawl, but most surprisingly — and perhaps the most bizzare fight yet of the young season followed by Pavel Datsyuk and Corey Perry’s spat on October 8th —  2010 Norris Trophy candidate Mike Green and Devil’s Captain Ilya Kovalchuk squared off with 4:17 left to go in the 3rd period.  For the sake of both their manhoods, I will refrain from commenting on either of their interesting fighting styles. Although I’m sure Caps forward Alexander Semin will still take more heat in the dressing room for his innovative fighting style at the expense of Rangers Defenseman, Marc Staal two seasons ago.

In the 2009-2010 season alone the Caps only amounted 20 regular season fighting majors over a span of 82 games. So far for the 2010-2011 campaign, the Caps managed to knock out 1/4 of last years total in a single outing. For a game with so much knuckle-to-knuckle action, perhaps this is an early indicator this team is not just about lighting the lamp anymore. With the off-season addition of DJ King — who was ironically a healthy scratch for the fighting bonanza against the Devils — it is easy to assume Caps General Manager George McPhee had the idea of adding more grit to his line-up. Perhaps this is his way of saying the Caps won’t only beat you on the scoreboard, but in hand-to-hand combat as well now? Can’t say I can complain about that, the team needs to evolve its’ overall playing style *Cough*PowerPlay*Cough* and learn to be more dynamic. Be careful NHL, this isn’t the same Washington Capitals team who will shy away from the rough stuff.

One thing’s for sure, I’m 99.99 percent positive Mr. King will be given a sweater the next time the Caps face the Devils on November 22.

Oh and Neuvirth, I think you are already starting to prove me correct, even if Varlamov has succumbed already to his wonky groin. I still say out of our two young talented goalies, Neuvirth will be the better of the two at the end of the day.

Photos: From Getty Images.

Kovalchuk and Ovechkin at the game.

Many famous current and former players took part in the Ovie vs Kovy game including: Evgeni Malkin, Nikolai Zherdev, Slava Kozlov, Alexei Kasatonov, Slava Fetisov, Alexander Kharlamov, and Dominik Hasek. Many top Kremlin officials, KHL President Alexander Medvedev and various celebrities were in attendance.

Kovalchuk and Ovechkin invited their first coaches to participate in the game as managers.

After the game Kovalchuk admitted that it had been a pleasure for him to play at Sokolniki — at his home arena (where HC Spartak Moscow plays). He also said he and his family had suffered from the Moscow smog. For those who haven’t heard, the city of Moscow and its surrounding areas were recently blanketed in smoke from fires burning near the city, as the Russian capital endured extraordinarily high summer temperatures.

Ovechkin said that such charity activities should be developed in Russia. He added that he had been in the Moscow smog, too.

Former Atlanta Thrasher Slava Kozlov admitted he hadn’t defined his future career yet. He asked not to link his visit to Russia with contract talks — his purpose there was to visit his parents. Kozlov also said that the New Jersey Devils didn’t call him — only Kovalchuk asked him to join.

Here’s a video from the show which ended 13:13.

And here are photos from the Russian media and various open sources
]]> http://www.hockeygoddesses.com/2010/09/05/kovi-vs-ovi-in-a-charity-game/feed/ 7 http://www.hockeygoddesses.com/2010/04/21/rip-dynamo-moscow/ http://www.hockeygoddesses.com/2010/04/21/rip-dynamo-moscow/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:56:58 +0000 kaatiya http://www.hockeygoddesses.com/?p=742

The names of team's legends hang in the rafters at Dynamo's arena in Moscow .

I know nothing is certain in life.  The same is true of pro sports.  I learned this early when my hometown NFL team — the one I grew up loving and cheering for and singing along to the cheesy “Luv Ya Blue!” song and dressing like a Derrick Doll for Halloween (don’t ask!) moved to Nashville, Tennessee.  (RIP Houston Oilers.)

I know Hartford Whalers’ fans felt the same way. The Montreal Expos’ fans.  Los Angeles Rams’ fans. Even fans of teams that haven’t even moved yet, but are in jeopardy probably feel this sadness and trepidation. I won’t even mention the Winnipeg Jets fans, who seem to think they are entitled to have the Thrashers or the Coyotes because they allegedly have better fans — that’s an argument for another day. (But suffice it to say, it takes more than a few years to grow a fan base. And these locales have the corporate support that other cities probably don’t and won’t. I know, I know, bring on the hate.)

Maxim Afinogenov in Dynamo colors.

But I must say it is with some shock and surprise to hear HC Moscow Dynamo, former team of such stars as Alex Ovechkin, Maxim Afinogenov, Alexei Yashin, and Alexei Kovalev, is ceasing to exist. Reports indicate the venerable Russian team, founded in 1946, will be merging with another in the Kontinental Hockey League — HC MVD.

The embattled Jiri Hudler (still property of the Detroit Red Wings) has apparently already been released from the second year of his contract and could return to the National Hockey League next year.

When we were in Moscow in January, Goddess Sasha and I took in a meeting of Dynamo Moscow and Atlant Moscow Oblast (itself a remade team from the remnants of Khimik Voskresensk — the former club of my favorite player, Slava Kozlov). Looking back now, we were lucky to see the game at Dynamo’s home area — an old, somewhat decrepit looking building with lots of charm.  I can still hear the “DYNAMO!  DYNAMO!” chants in my head.  The crowds and arenas, compared with most NHL teams are small, but boy are they loud.  They put NHL fans to shame.  Such passion.  NHL cheers may as well be golf claps by comparison.

Russian fans cheer: “Dynamo! Dynamo!”

Dynamo’s implosion (or going away — whatever you chose), hits me where it hurts.  Being a fan of a team on the brink, so to speak, it frightens me.  If it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone. Particularly a team like the Atlanta Thrashers whose fanbase has been alienated and led on for years now.  Atlanta could be — nay, should be — a fantastic hockey city.  The people are there, the owners are out to lunch or just don’t give a damn. Oh! That’s right they have spent years in litigation fighting over a team they seem to care nothing about, just having pissing contests while they piss the team away.

Two of the many they let get away.

I don’t want the Thrashers to be the next Dynamo.  Or Montreal Expos. Los Angeles Rams.  Or Houston Oilers.  Or even the Minnesota North Stars.   I’m just not sure what we, the little guys — particularly the die-hard fans — can do to stop it.

Photos/video: Moscow Dynamo stadium and Ilya Kovalchuk/Marian Hossa photo, and Dynamo stadium video: Copyright 2006-2010. Goddess Kaat. Maxim Afinogenov photo: Wikipedia commons, 2009.

So, herewith, and without consulting one another are our picks — a few bold ones in there. We’ve also picked our tournament MVP and a players we expect to surprise you — maybe for good or bad. Amy selected two possible MVPs — we’ll let her get away with that, but just this once. She also selected a second set of winners — BEEP — not gonna happen. You gotta go with your gut. So for the purposes of this table, it’s first instincts. For the record, Goddess Amy said her table would look different if the goalies wigged and stunk. For the purposes of our exercise, we are assuming everyone is firing on all cylinders. Maybe we’ll do the all-oops team picks tomorrow. Ha ha!

Anyway, let’s see who comes closest … and see if you agree with our picks. If not, tell us why.

	Gold	Silver	Bronze	MVP	Surprise
Amy	Russia	Canada	Sweden	Jarome Iginla or Alex Ovechkin	Bobby Ryan
Kaat	Canada	Russia	U.S.A.	Canadian fans	Ryan Miller
Sasha	Sweden	Canada	Russia	Peter Forsberg	Loui Eriksson
Savvy	Russia	Canada	Czech	Evgeni Nabakov	David Krejci
** It should be noted all picks were in before the men’s tournament began.
** Kaat selected the people of Canada as MVPs. Not only being a proud kid of a Canadian mom, but also she thinks they will push the Canadian team past the Red Machine. Selecting a player, she’d go with Sidney Crosby. How Cliché !

As I watched past films of the NHL back in the 70s and 80s, the words a wise man closely tied to the NHL once told me suddenly rang in my ears.  Yes, the game as major-league sport was in its infancy, but the intensity and tenacity of these players once they hit the playoffs was incredible.

We’ve seen it this year in some of the teams, and we’ve seen it completely lacking in others.  We’ve seen it expressed in the wrong ways, which to me is probably the most disappointing.  Cheap shots to the head were almost unheard of back in the days of helmetless players.  Players had some level of respect.

But I digress.  What I really wanted to expound upon is the fact that there are teams out there that don’t know how to play in the playoffs.   Washington?  Look at the talent on that team!  They brought excitement to their fans every game this year.   We “ooohed” and “ahhhed” at Alexander Ovechkin’s exuberant tenacity, at Alexander Semin’s incredible hands and Mike Green’s brilliant slapshots.  What have they brought us in the playoffs thus far?  Nothing but frustration.

Beauty isn’t going to get you very far in the playoffs.  Neither is clean play.  And let’s face it, hooks and frustrated cross-checks aren’t going to get you anywhere but the box.  Look at teams that historically have had great success in the playoffs.  They have grit, brawn, and yes, some sneaky, chippy, and sometimes cheap play.

Ironically, it’s one of the players that is the most despised in the league that is playing an old style of nasty, grinding, playoff hockey.  Say what you will about Sean Avery, but no one can deny the impact he has had on the Capitals-Rangers series:  Getting under the skin of opponents, distracting them on the ice and giving the goalies a whack here and there to throw them off.

Washington?  Where is their Sean Avery?  Where is their forward camped out in front of Henrik Lundqvist, smacking his stick when the refs aren’t looking, giving him that extra little bump?  Give the goalie too much respect and you’re going to end up with a big goose egg in your goal column.

Don’t like the Sean Avery adulation?  How about Detroit, who has at least three — maybe even more — pests in their entourage, with Chris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom leading the pack.  Take a look at any team leading their series and you’ll find they have at least one or two guys who play that role and another one to two who will join their ranks in the playoffs.

And that, my friends, is what brings intensity and fans to playoff hockey. 

Because if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.

But it doesn’t stop at Avery.  Last night’s Coaches Corner’s Don Cherry effused at the fact that Ovechkin has toned down his over-exuberant goal celebrations (all the while taking credit for being the one leading to it after his anti-Ovechkin-celebration Coaches Corner a couple of weeks back).   While many of us think there is an awful lot of Ovechkin Overload going on right now, to muzzle him and his celebrations is detrimental to the game.  HIs celebrations (of not just his goals, but of teammates as well) get the rest of the team excited, which in turn gets the crowd excited and creates new hockey fans that happen to see what kind of excitement hockey can bring.

Ilya Kovalchuk pointing at Sidney Crosby in the penalty box after scoring a power-play goal a couple years back was pricesless, as was Slava Kozlov chirping at Ulf Sammuelson after scoring a shootout goal against Phoenix, sending coach Wayne Gretzky into fits of rage.  Let’s face it.  American’s like drama.  We like scandal. The world would be a boring place if we just all got along and sent each other flowers after hockey games.

Now I know some hockey elitists are going to argue that such celebrations and taunting are the “gateway drug” to further misbehavior such as illegal gun-toting and off-ice violence (and yes, I have heard this argument many times) and that hockey will lose it’s appeal to the intellectuals who can look past the fighting and actually enjoy the game.  I argue that competitive sports bring out primitive instincts in people, and we really should be worrying more about ridding the game of head shots, cheap shots and abusive stick fouls rather than who said what about whose girlfriend and what the appropriate level of celebration of a goal is.

On a personal note, I played in my own high-level, intensity filled game.  A rivalry quickly developed between two former Division I NCAA players.  A bit of smack talking on the ice led to a penalty and one of my teammates scoring and immediately skating by the other teams bench, mocking them and the penalty.  The fans were soon in an uproar, and the opposing coach nearly blew a gasket.  The rest of the game was nasty, but never lost it’s intensity and we won by a single-goal margin.  Let me tell you, nothing compares to the energy that brings.  No harm, no foul.