Despite Burke's well known hatred for players who are known for their inconsistency, the Leafs have been labelled as one of the front runners for talented Russian winger Alexander Semin, who could be on his way out of Washington. Though Semin is one of the most talented players in the league, he has failed to gain post-season success with the Capitals in the past four years. With recent acquisitions like Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward, coupled with the emergence of Marcus Johansson, the Capitals have the capable players to fill gaps, if they can land an NHL ready prospect in the deal and maybe a pick. This season, Semin is due to earn around $6.7 million and becomes a unrestricted free agent next season.
The Leafs on the other hand really only have one All-Star potential player on their roster, Phil Kessel. Though Burke is against inconsistency, he has been known to make huge moves to bring big name players to his club. The Leafs could offer up one of their many young D-Men like Franson, Gunnerson, Aulie, Gardiner or possibly even the likes of Clarke MacArthur.
With all that said, if Semin goes anywhere, he's most likely to land with either Colorado or Winnipeg because of players like Colorado's Stastny and Duchene as well as Winnipeg's unsolved contract of Zack Bogosian.
