Apparently, Alexander Semin's new home won't be very far from his old one.
Sergei Begishev of Russian sports website SovSport.ru reported on Thursday afternoon that the former Washington Capitals star would sign a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes worth more than the $6.7 million he made last year with the Capitals. The move has since been confirmed by Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer and Darren Dreger of TSN as one year at $7 million. That will keep Semin in the Southeast Division as part of a Hurricanes team that has been busy this offseason.
Semin, 28, had 54 points last year in 77 games for the Capitals. His 21 goals marked the lowest total of his NHL career. In 469 career games, Semin has 197 goals and 211 assists, highlighted by an 84-point season in 2009-10. There's no doubt that the native of Krasnojarsk has world-class talent, but motivation has been a question, which had kept teams from being particularly aggressive in their pursuit. Apparently, however, a one-year deal was enough to bring Semin to Carolina, with a Hurricanes team that has been working hard this offseason to upgrade its talent.
The Hurricanes scored big in June when they landed Jordan Staal from the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving up Brandon Sutter, defense prospect Brian Dumoulin and a draft pick in order to do so. They also made a play in the Rick Nash trade sweepstakes, but eventually ended their pursuit when the Blue Jackets wanted Jeff Skinner. In Semin, the Hurricanes get a potential 40-goal scorer to play as part of an intriguing forward group that includes Jordan and Eric Staal, Skinner, Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen. If it works out, the Hurricanes can pursue an extension and continue to build. If not, they can trade him as a rental in Feburary or cut bait at the end of the season. It's a smart, relatively low-risk move for a Carolina team looking to end a three-year playoff drought.
