Capitals Sign Semin to One-Year Extension

The Washington Capitals announced on Saturday that they have signed right wing Alexander Semin to a one-year contract extension. The deal is reportedly worth $6 million. He would have been a restricted free agent in the summer and could have been a likely candidate for an offer sheet from a rival team. In 29 games so far this season, Semin has 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points. In 283 career NHL games, all with the Capitals, he has 122 goals and 126 assists for 248 points. This is a great signing for the Capitals, as Semin has developed into a reliable scorer over the past few seasons and has helped make the team more competitive. With one key free agent re-signed, the Capitals will turn their attention in the coming months to re-signing Nicklas Backstrom, Tomas Fleischmann, Simeon Varlamov, and possibly Brendan Morrison. If the salary cap remains close to $56.8 million for next season, the Capitals would have roughly $20 million to re-sign these players, which should be enough to get them all signed to new contracts, barring any unforeseen circumstances.