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Should The Habs Sign UFA Alexander Semin?
Last week, Russian winger Alexander Semin hit the bottom of the barrel and was placed waivers in order the bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes following a very disappointing season. The skilled, but enigmatic player, had the worst offensive season of his career, potting only 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 57 games, being a healthy scratch more often than not.
The 31 year-old Semin had three campaigns left on the $35-million, five-year pact he signed with The Hurricanes in March 2013. The buy-out will still pay him $2.333-million over the next six years.
A three times 30-goal scorer and a one-time 40-goal scorer, Semin will have to convince his next team that last season was only a fluke and that he still has gas left in the tank.
The oft-injured right winger is not against a one-year deal to redeem himself as reported by my colleague Igor Eronko of sport-express.ru.
Semin's agent says Alexander is ok with a 1-year deal for now. Refuses to talk about an option of the #KHL
— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) July 5, 2015
Depending on the amount asked by Semin, he could prove to be a solid option for general manager Marc Bergevin, who is still looking (we presume) for a top-six winger to complement his first two lines. Earning $6.74 million/year on average over the past five years, it is doubtful that Semin will find someone to pay him as much as that. However, a desperate GM might be willing to give him a one-year deal worth around $5 million/year.
THE GOOD:
Will Marc Bergevin pull the trigger and offer Semin a contract? With $7,391,667 of cap space remaining and Alex Galchenyuk still unsigned, the Canadiens would need to shed some salary by trading or demoting a player on the roster in order to give him a multi-million contract.
Washington, a team that was reportedly in the race to land Semin is now out as the Capitals signed UFA Justin Williams and acquired T.J. Oshie from the St. Louis Blues, both right wingers.
While he has extraordinary offensive ability, his compete level and lack of consistency have been an issue during his career. Last season, in a moribund Hurricanes team, Semin seemed disinterested and lacked commitment on and off the ice.
THE BAD:
Maybe if he is surrounded by fellow Russians such as Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin, it will give him the direction he needs to concentrate about his game and resume his high-scoring prowess playing alongside dynamic players like Tomas Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty. Semin scored 21, 22 and 19 goals on the power play with the Capitals so if he can regain his scoring touch, he could certainly improve the Habs’ dismal man advantage.
Do you think Alexander Semin could be a cheap solution to help the Habs’ sputtering offense?
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