Semin's Mighty Fall

A lot of attention has been thrown towards Alex Semin lately and it's not all good. At the beginning of the season, let's remember, Semin nearly ditched his "other Alex" moniker and was getting lots of praise (including being recognized as the NHL's first star of the week) as Alex Ovechkin started slowly. The two Alexes joined Nicklas Backstrom on a top line that could have been one of the league's best.

But, over the last week (and maybe longer), Semin has been the scapegoat for the team's penalty-filled ways, taking seven minor penalties in the past eight games, including one in each of the past five. Last season, he led all Capitals' forwards in minor penalties with 27 in 63 games. And he's now playing on the third line with Brooks Laich and Michael Nylander, with whom Semin didn't click last season.

"We've been harping on it and harping on it and harping on it, about taking fewer penalties," Coach Bruce Boudreau said yesterday. "It's something we have to cut down, obviously."

Semin has the third-most penalty minutes on the club (45), behind Ovechkin (58) and Donald Brashear (94). He's also tops on the team (and tied for ninth in the league) in plus/minus (plus-23) and second in goals (19). His PIMs are tied for 124th in the league and are 18 fewer than the total accrued by his good friend Sidney Crosby.

Could there be more to the story? Recently, many people have gone out of their way to defend Semin's actions -- especially his good friend.

"I talked to [Semin] on the bench," Ovechkin said after Sunday's 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators. "I said sometimes the puck doesn't go in, but that it's coming. It's coming. Then the next shift he has a breakaway and scores a beautiful goal. I'm glad for him... He plays great for us. Sometimes he has mistakes. Everybody have mistakes."

"Alex has that kind of skill," Boudreau reflected about Semin's goal against the Sens. "Hopefully, that will jump start him a little bit."

Semin is in the first year of a two-year deal, which pays him $4.2 million this season and $5 million in 2009-10. But he's been the subject of trade rumors, he still doesn't talk to the media all that often (and hardly ever in English) and his contract is sure to be discussed this off-season as the team tries to find creative ways to add veterans and make room for up-and-coming youngsters like Karl Alzner, Oskar Osala and Simeon Varlamov. And let's not forget those contracts that are expiring that need to be addressed.

This debate likely will continue until a concrete solution has been announced. It might end with the Caps finally losing patience with the enigmatic Semin (in which case they might trade him) or deciding that his skill outweighs the extra baggage (and signing him to an extension).