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Report: KHL club “ready to open talks” with Semin

Alexander Semin

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 2: Alexander Semin #28 of Washington Capitals skates during warmups before Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Rangers on May 2, 2012 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images)

According to Russian news outlet Sports.ru, SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL is set to begin contract talks with Washington Capitals forward Alex Semin.

The former 40-goal scorer is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and has indicated his time in Washington is over. While reports have suggested Semin’s desire is to remain in the NHL, a recent interview with Sport-Express suggested playing in the KHL is also a viable option:

Question: “Is there any clarity on where your career will resume in the next season?”

Semin: “I can’t say anything concrete at this time. I’m waiting for July 1st, until the negotiations in the NHL open, for now I am unemployed.”

Question: “Are your priorities in Russia or North America?”

Semin: “I can’t answer. I don’t know.”

SKA general manager Alexei Kasatonov -- who played nearly 400 games in the NHL with New Jersey, Anaheim, St. Louis and Boston -- had previously told Sports-Express that his club plans to pursue Semin when the free agency window opens.

It’ll be interesting to see how negotiations play out. Recent days have seen a flurry of NHLers depart for the KHL -- Erik Christensen, Sami Lepisto, Curtis Sanford -- though none with the star power and talent level of Semin, who has averaged 31 goals per season since the lockout.

Of note, SKA is home to a number of ex-NHLers including Maxim Afinogenov, Vitaly Vishnevski, Dmitri Kalinin, Denis Grebeshkov and Petr Prucha.