UPDATE Alexei Semenov turns down contract with Rangers, signs in Moscow for more than twice as much

Don't forget that hockey players in Russia get their salaries tax-free, and often have living expenses taken care of. Plus he's got family down there, which you can't really put a price on.

Tuk Tuk wrote:Well why would you count a contract like that?

Well, you can only count guaranteed money if you want to compare. On the NHL side, he's only guaranteed one year. On the KHL, he's guaranteed 2 years.

wprager wrote:Don't forget that hockey players in Russia get their salaries tax-free, and often have living expenses taken care of. Plus he's got family down there, which you can't really put a price on.

Yeah, all those perks for free. Just don't collapse on the bench. No, this isn't making light of a awful situation, just a harsh reality.

From The Edmonton Journal today:

Alexei Semenov, he of the turning-down-Rangers-offer fame, and seen in San Jose silks last season, is returning to Russia: he's just signed a one-year contract with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL for $1.6 million (all terms US), much to the delight of his wife.

A few days ago, Semenov agreed to terms with the Rangers on a one-year deal worth $600,000, only to call GM Glen Sather shortly thereafter to tell him that when he had shared the great news with his wife, she ordered him to turn it down.

http://communities.canada.com/edmontonjournal/blogs/hockey/archive/2009/10/08/semenov-and-his-wife-head-to-moscow.aspx

Hm...sounds like Alexei's wife is a pretty smart negotiator.

Life in Moscow's gonna be pretty darn good with a mil-six for one year, and tax-free.

I thought it was $1.6M for 2 years.

I guess 1.5 turned into 1.6... did the Ruble rise in value?

wprager wrote:I thought it was $1.6M for 2 years.

According to the Journal, Mr and Mrs Semenov got a $1.6MM for a single year.

Na Zdaroyve!

davetherave wrote:

wprager wrote:I thought it was $1.6M for 2 years.

According to the Journal, Mr and Mrs Semenov got a $1.6MM for a single year.

Na Zdaroyve!

Nice! Talk about an upgrade.

shabbs wrote:I guess 1.5 turned into 1.6... did the Ruble rise in value?

Maybe you don't know that they pay in dollars, rubles or euros to the taxfree bank account of your choice, Comrade Shabbs.

Do not underestimate the power of Mr. Putin's hockey league.

davetherave wrote:

shabbs wrote:I guess 1.5 turned into 1.6... did the Ruble rise in value?

Maybe you don't know that they pay in dollars, rubles or euros to the taxfree bank account of your choice, Comrade Shabbs.

Do not underestimate the power of Mr. Putin's hockey league.

Comrade DTR... I was not aware of what currency was paid out in the KHL... and your answer really didn't help... as usual... come... let us drink until your answer makes sense... we're going to need a big bottle of Stoli for this...

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:

shabbs wrote:I guess 1.5 turned into 1.6... did the Ruble rise in value?

Maybe you don't know that they pay in dollars, rubles or euros to the taxfree bank account of your choice, Comrade Shabbs.

Do not underestimate the power of Mr. Putin's hockey league.

Comrade DTR... I was not aware of what currency was paid out in the KHL... and your answer really didn't help... as usual... come... let us drink until your answer makes sense... we're going to need a big bottle of Stoli for this...

Excellent idea, Comrade!

STOLI ON ICE!

I love Stoli. So good.... mmmmmmmmmmm Vodka.

Alexei Semenov says reports of his wife vetoing the contract with the Rangers were false, and he tells his story to set the record straight. From the New York Times, extracted from the Russian sports daily Den Za Dnem:

In an interview published over the weekend in the Russian daily Sport Den za Dnem, defenseman Alexei Semenov made his first public statement on his sudden departure from the Rangers before the season opener on Oct. 1.

Semenov said he declined to sign with the Rangers after being invited to try out for the club in training camp not because of his wife’s objections, as Rangers General Manager Glen Sather had told reporters, but because he did not think the contract would pay him enough.

“The story is somewhat different than what was presented,” said Semenov, who is now playing for Dinamo Moscow in the K.H.L. “I love my wife; I take her advice on family matters, but never on hockey! On that I have my own views, or I confer with my agent.”

Semenov called the idea that his wife Gulya nixed the contract “absurd,” disputing Sather’s version of the story.

“I think he misunderstood me,” Semenov said. “I told him only that I was a family man with two children, and that the conditions of the contract were not suitable.

“When we met, I said, “Glenn, I can’t agree to the proposal.’ But in general I was not averse to playing in New York — it’s my wife’s favorite city in America. And I liked the coaching staff, the players, and it’s a chic place to live.”

Semenov explained the time line of his Rangers experience.

“I was invited to the Rangers camp, passed all the tests, played exhibition games,” Semenov said in the interview. “I played well, and Glen Sather offered me a contract. I took it and promised to study it. Meanwhile, the media reported that I had signed, which was not true.”

Although Semenov did not give details, he indicated that money was the sticking point (the offer reportedly was for $500,000 for one season).

“My wife and I have two children, so of course it’s important where we live, how we live,” he said. “I read that my wife spends most of her time in Russia, but that’s nonsense. We’re glad we’re always together. She was still in America during my stay in the Rangers camp.” He added that she was about to deliver their third child and wanted to give birth in the U.S.

Semenov said after he told Sather he would not sign, Sather came back to ask again when the Rangers could not find a seventh defenseman to take his place. “Glen came to me once more with this if I felt the same,” he said. “But the conditions of the contract had not changed.”

Semenov said he is now earning more with Dinamo than he was in the N.H.L. He said that his family has adjusted to life in their homeland.

“We are in Russia every summer, this is not new for us,” he said. “My kids and wife are happy, which is essential.”

In the interview he expressed surprise over how his departure from the Rangers was reported.

“Can you imagine that the press wrote that my wife lives in Russia!” he said. “Where did they get that idea? In fact, my wife is always with me, because I’m madly in love with her. We have been married for many years and have two children. She’s a good, kind girl with a strong character. Incidentally, Gulya has two degrees, one of which is a legal degree.”

Semenov said he held no hard feelings toward the Rangers.

“I said goodbye to Glen Sather; we have not burned any bridges. We know each other for a long time — Sather drafted me way back in Edmonton. When I came to Rangers camp, we talked like old friends. He’s a perfect man. Our paths diverged, but it happens. Nowhere is it written that I will not return to the N.H.L.”

Article here:
http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/semenov-says-wife-not-a-factor-in-his-departure-from-rang/#more-20345