When Ryan Suter and Zach Parise signed with the Minnesota Wild on the Fourth of July, the pair of moves was expected to cause some serious dominoes to fall on the free agent market. Things had slowed down considerably while the NHL waited for a decision from Suter and Parise, and with them headed to Minnesota, the expectation was for activity to pick in the days that followed.
So far, not a whole lot has happened since Suter and Parise made their decision to play for the Wild. While defenseman Matt Carle did sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning, other "Plan B" type of defensemen are still unsigned. The same goes for "Plan B" type of forwards. For example, Alexander Semin is not only still unsigned, but it doesn't seem like there is much activity at all with him at this time. Perhaps this could be because teams are still exploring other options first, or perhaps there just isn't much interest in him from NHL teams, which is what the Ottawa Sun's Don Brennan suggested on Friday.
Of course, free agent Shane Doan would be a more desirable catch, which is why a number of others teams are trying to land the Phoenix captain. From what we are led to believe, only the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings have expressed any real interest in Semin.
The Free Press' Helene St. James reported on Friday that Semin isn't high on the Red Wings' list of targets. She also reported that the Red Wings plan to pursue Shane Doan if he is willing to leave the Phoenix Coyotes. This suggests that the Red Wings' "Plan B" at forward is Doan or a possible trade for somebody like Rick Nash or Bobby Ryan. If none of these options actually come to fruition, then perhaps the Red Wings will take more than an inquiring glance at Semin. Based on the current lack of interest in Semin, it seems like they will be able to take their time.
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