By J.D. Lagrange, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

Some have been asking for it, others have been on the fence, wanting to wait until training camp to see what young guys could do. Either way, the announcement of Alexander Semin signing has left no Habs’ fan indifferent today.

PENTICTON, BC. – For those who were sleeping under a rock, the Canadiens have announced that they have agreed to a one-year deal with Semin, a contract worth $1.1 million for the upcoming season. Before feeling bad for the enigmatic Russian whose contract was bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes a few weeks ago, understand that he will be making $5.8 million next season as the Canes owe him $4.7 million with the buy-out.

The fanbase seems split on this decision by Marc Bergevin, although all agree that at 31 years old, Semin is still young enough and there is no denying of his skills set. Standing at 6-foot-2-inches and 209 lbs, he is a right-hand shot who can play both wings. He has one of the best shots in the NHL and the terms creative, explosive, soft hands and goal-scorer have been used to describe him. He does have the potential to break a game open and can be lethal one-on-one. In spite of his size, he often struggles in physical games, his defensive game is below average and he’s been known for being moody.

Last season in Carolina, Semin only managed six goals and 19 points with a minus -10 differential for the Hurricanes, which prompted the team to buy out the remaining three years of his contract paying him seven million dollars per season. When justifying the buyout, Ron Francis had this to say:

Francis on the #Canes decision to buy out Semin's contract: "We want guys who want to be here and want to play hard every day."

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) July 1, 2015

Those are pretty strong comments, something we don’t often see coming from management about a player they let go, and we sense a lot of frustration in those comments. Semin had 22 goals just two seasons ago, but the last impactful season he’s had was back in 2009-2010 when he scored 40 for the Capitals, although he did score 28 goals in 65 games the following year. Expecting him to return to his 40 goals shape might be a bit unrealistic and it is pretty hard to set expectations on what he can bring to a team at this point. Everyone, Semin included, is hoping that it’s more than the six goals he had last year.

Semin’s agent says Alexander prepares for a big season, wants to have an immediate impact and help #Habs to win the Stanley Cup

— Igor Eronko (@IgorEronko) July 24, 2015

During his press conference after the signing, Semin had very little to say. Explaining the reason for choosing Montreal though, we’ve learned that he did speak with Andrei Markov. That in itself is interesting as it means that the Canadiens involved Markov into the decision making before signing Semin.

“I like Montreal. I like this town. It was Markov, too. He said come to us and help us win a Stanley Cup.”

On Twitter, my timeline was flooded with comments about the signing and it was interesting to see how diversified and a bit divided the fan base is on the news. Some are thrilled with it, others, not so much. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of this recent move by Bergevin:

PROS

• The cap hit and the duration of the contract, at $1.1 million for one year, is very low for a player of Semin’s stature, with the skills set that he possesses and with the upside that he can bring.
• Playing on a one year contract means that he will be playing for another contract with the Canadiens or elsewhere in the NHL, an added incentive for him.
• Contrarily to Carolina, Montreal is a much better team with a lot more skills and depth. Semin didn’t have Subban, Markov or Petry feeding him the puck on the powerplay or on a breakout pass.
• Semin is coming in on a team in need of offense, help on the top-six and on the powerplay. He will (or should) be given a fair chance at doing what he likes to do, which is playing an offensive role.

CONS

• Semin is coming off the worst season of his NHL career and there is a legitimate feeling of concern about that. Was it the exception to the rule or is it the beginning of the end for him?
• This signing by Bergevin is a bit surprising considering that he has always put the emphasis on getting character players and Semin certainly isn’t known for that aspect.
• Perhaps the biggest issue might be the fact that there is the potential that Semin could take the spot of a young prospect, ready to prove what he can do. Nikita Scherbak is now NHL size, Charles Hudon had a great season. There are only so many roster spots opened at the NHL level.

“We are very pleased to have reached a short term agreement with Alexander Semin. Alex is a pure goal scorer with a good shot. We believe his addition to our group of forwards will strengthen our offensive production and our power play. A veteran winger with size, Semin has reached the 20-goal plateau seven times since the beginning of his NHL career 12 years ago. His signing represents a great opportunity for the organization and for Alex’s career.” — Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.

What we do know is that Semin wasn’t brought in for his fighting skills!

While we could be tempted to jump to conclusions to determine if this is a good signing or not, and most fans and media will, let’s take the “wait and see” approach on this one. This signing will create some healthy competition at camp, including for Mr. Semin who has everything to lose here.

What is interesting however is that while Bergevin didn’t go out to get a proven top-six goals’ scorer and overpay in the process as some GM’s have done, he did add some very interesting depth on the right side this summer. Both Semin and Zack Kassian will be playing for new contracts and both have some huge offensive upside. Either (or both) of them can be part of the solution on the powerplay, one with his shot, the other with his size and net presence. Time will tell if the experiment will work or not but those are all low risks and high rewards moves.

Go Habs Go!!!

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