Alexander Semin: Should He Stay or Should He Go?

To trade or not to trade — that seems to be the question when any discussion of Alexander Semin arises this offseason. Keep him and you again fill a top 6 roster spot with promise, petulance, and perimeter play. And probably 32-38 goals. Deal him and you perhaps remove a stain of softness and infuriating inconsistency. You’d also afford yourself nearly $7 of salary cap space. But can you deal Alexander Semin? Practically speaking, is there any semblance of a market for this enigma? He’s got one year left on his contract before arriving at unrestricted free agency, at a more than healthy cap hit, and why in the world would Washington’s Semin haters imagine that his flaws and shortcomings aren’t well known around the league? And then there’s this: He isn’t exactly a compelling personality around which you market hockey in your market; his refusal to speak virtually any English poses something of a PR challenge, wouldn’t you say? Obviou...