The thinking for a while has been that if the Detroit Red Wings don't land Zach Parise, they will look to Alexander Semin as their backup plan. With Parise choosing the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, the need to go to a backup plan is now the reality of the situation for the Red Wings.
The speculation about Semin being Detroit's backup plan was seemingly confirmed by a report earlier this week that said the Red Wings were "in the mix" for Semin. However, MLive's Ansar Khan reported on Tuesday night that the Red Wings may not be all that intrigued by the idea of signing him.
The Red Wings are not high on skilled right wing Alexander Semin, the second-best available forward, due to concerns about commitment and effort that have dogged him his entire career. They would be hesitant to sign a player like that to a long-term deal.
Of course, that was on Tuesday night. Now, with Parise officially no longer an option, Dmitry Chesnokov is reporting that the Red Wings are starting to show interest in Semin:
As @thefourthperiod mentioned, the Wings are making inquiries about Semin.
— Dmitry Chesnokov (@dchesnokov) July 4, 2012
Even if the Red Wings aren't that high on Semin, they may have to take a chance on him anyway. Signing Shane Doan has been mentioned as a possible option, as has trading for Rick Nash, but if neither of those options pan out, the Red Wings should take a hard look at Semin.
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