Report: Alexander Semin, Tomas Vokoun Won’t Return to Capitals Next Season

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May 15, 2012

Report: Alexander Semin, Tomas Vokoun Won't Return to Capitals Next SeasonAlexander Semin and Tomas Vokoun are reportedly following Dale Hunter out the door.

Semin and Vokoun will not return to the Washington Capitals next season, according to separate reports, which means more changes for the team that saw its head coach step down on Monday.

Semin's agent told ESPN.com that his client has no intentions of signing a contract extension with the Caps, and that he will therefore become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"It was good while it lasted. With the lack of playoff success, with the direction they are going. They decided to change directions. That's within their rights. Alex doesn't fit into that system obviously," Semin's agent, Mark Gandler, told ESPN The Magazine. "It just doesn't make any sense to him. He plays, he did the best he could under the circumstances and he earned his right to be a free agent."

Gandler said that the strong priority is for Semin to continue to play in the NHL, rather than to head over to the KHL in Russia.

Semin finished with 21-33-54 totals in 77 games this season. The 28-year-old finished with a career-high 40 goals and 84 points in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, Vokoun's first choice is also to stay in the NHL, according to SportsNet's Nick Kypreos. However, it's unlikely that he'll be staying with the Capitals. CSNWashington's Chuck Gormley reports that Vokoun said Monday he never intended to play more than one season in Washington.

The Capitals netminder took a huge pay cut from his 2010-11 salary to the $1.5 million he made this season in an attempt to chase a Stanley Cup — a move that didn't exactly go as planned.

In other words, expect big changes in the nation's capital this offseason.

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