RED ALERT: It's the Caps and 'Canes tonight

The Washington Capitals face off tonight against struggling division rival Carolina Hurricanes, in sole possession of first place overall int he Eastern Conference, 1 point over both New Jersey and Pittsburgh.  The Caps also have a whopping 14 point Southeast Division lead over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Most of the new news we have already reported here or on our Twitter.

The Semin deal . . .  As you likely know, the Caps and Alexander Semin agreed on a one year contract extension.  Not surprising.  The Caps and Semin did not appear to be close at all on any long term commitment, opposite that of the reported discussions with Nicklas Backstrom.

Here are some of Alexander Semin’s comments on the deal.  When asked why only a year . . .

"

SEMIN: This is what it turned out to be. We discussed it with my agent and decided to do it. We had different offers but reached this decision.

"

This could mean one of two things.  First, Semin believes he can get much more on the market as an unrestricted free agent after next season, meaning,t he Caps may have low balled him.  Or, two, they may still working framework for an extended, long term deal, with the Caps or Semin unsure how long that extension should be.  My bet is, with Ovechkin at $ 9 million and a new, long term commitment coming to Backstrom soon, the Caps were unwilling to pay Semin what Semin wanted.  Period.  [Read more →]

Read it all at

http://dcprosportsreport.com/2009/12/28/red-alert-its-the-caps-and-canes-tonight.html