Money isn't his first priority! He's so enigmatic!

Alexander Semin lives in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, a 12-hour time difference from DC. On Sept. 6 he flew to Novosibirsk, 500 miles west of Krasnoyarsk, to watch the 1st game of the new Lokomotiv team. Unsurprisingly, he was quite affected by the plane crash a year ago, having known and/or played with several team members. I remember him saying he learned of the crash when his sister called him while he was driving. He had to pull over. This is a brief interview from Sept. 6. It needs Google translate or similar.

BRAND NEW Carolina Hurricanes Jersey. Official from Reebok. Retails for at least $120. Perfect for the upcoming season. $100 obo. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/clo/3231585919.html

At least, we think so. Check out the link to find out why. What grade would you give the Hurricanes in terms of their transactions this offseason?

Thought this may be an interesting article; it outlines some of the better offensive players that were resigned to the Charlotte Checkers for next season, and how they could soon make an impact on the big club. If Semin turns out to be a bust or the offense drops off next year, do you think we need to look to other teams to trade or could we expect some of these AHLers to step up and fill those holes?

From the Penguin's Joe Vitale's twitter feed today. He's in Haiti with Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke this week for a humanitarian cause related to an orphanage there. I believe Matt Cooke was the organizer. Guess you can get Penguins #11 jerseys pretty cheap these days.

SB Nation NHL contributor Bruce Ciskie takes a look at Carolina's offseason and what 2012-13 may bring.

Sounds like Derek Joslin's days as a Carolina Hurricane are done. The team has placed him on unconditional waivers and will likely buy out the remainder of his contract if he goes unclaimed. Joslin was set to make $750k this coming year, so his cap hit from the buyout will be $75,000 next season and $125,000 the year after.

Interesting article about a potential Rick Nash trade, particularly in that it includes this line: "Also known to have considerable interest are San Jose, Philadelphia, Toronto and Carolina, apparently a late entry, sources said." Whether we have the assets and financial wherewithal to pull off such a move or not, nice to see they're at least making a serious effort.