Considering Ilya Kovalchuk Is a UFA this coming year and most likely going to leave Atlanta; would you replace Semin for another proven LW in Kovalchuk?

Comparing Season Stats:

Since the lockout Ilya Kovalchuk has played in over 318 Games out of a possible 328 and has scored 189 Goals with 163 Assists for a total of 352 Points.  He is also a Co-Owner of the 03-04 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. In addition he is the Captain of his team which show's great Character.

Since the lockout Alexander Semin has played in over 202 Games out of a possible 246 and has scored 98 Goals with 96 Assists for a total of 194 Points.

More after the Jump

Comparing Playoff Stats:

Since the lockout Ilya Kovalchuk has only brought his team once to a Playoff appearance and was blown out in 4 games only scoring 1 goal and 1 assist for a total of 2 points.

Since the lockout Alexander Semin has gone to the playoffs playing in all 21 games scoring 8 goals and 14 assists for a total of 22 Points.

My opinion:

There is no doubt Semin can be at times an exceptional player and especially during the playoffs. At other times though, I feel like he can be a costly liability due to his frailness as a player. That frailness has cost him to miss a substantial part of the last 3 seasons missing over 44 games. In addition, after his return off an injury, he never appears to pick up at the same pace. His frailness also leads him to take some costly penalties and inadvertently costing us games.

Kovalchuck has always had good and consistent play as a player. He has averaged 90 points the last 4 seasons and hasn't really had a strong casting crew behind him to get to the next level. His durability and work ethic as a player has never been in question.  

Considering our Salary Cap Issues and seeing as Marion Gaborik, a comparable player to Semin, was offered a 37.5 Mil over 5 years during this past off-season.