Semin signs one year, $7m deal with Carolina

[b.shanafan14 733]

I think comparing bringing Hossa on for one year and bring Semin on for one year is a horrible comparison. In fact the only thing that the two situations have in common is one year term and $7m+ salary. Hossa was the best UFA that year, he turned down much better offers to play with the Wings (in fact his agent said "'I have never been involved in a deal and seen a player get so excited to take $85 million less than he was offered elsewhere,' Winter told The Canadian Press. 'It's almost incomprehensible, even to an agent. But Marian is a special player.'"), and neither his work ethic or his attitude had ever been questioned. Semin on the other hand was not tops on anyone's list, couldn't get a multiyear deal (at least not a good one), didn't turn down better offers (I assume), and is constantly questioned and trashed over his work ethic and attitude.

Talking about Hossa makes me sad and angry. Let's pretend he was never here, and we never missed out on re-signing him.

[Frozen-Man 144]

Talking about Hossa makes me sad and angry. Let's pretend he was never here, and we never missed out on re-signing him.

Lol. I really wish we had re-signed him long term too.

[b.shanafan14 733]

Lol. I really wish we had re-signed him long term too.

"But he wasn't great in the playoffs, and Franzen was a beast! Who would you rather have? Go Mule!" - LGW, 2009

[Guest The Axe]

Holland has been awful, but we will know the full awfulness that is Ken Holland when he pulls his final move. Holmstrom for 1 more year at 1.5 million. Its amazing to watch a lot of people defend the guy while our team goes downhill despite having a good core to build around. Scotty Bowman was the hockey mind, and jimmy d and haakan andersson were the pioneers. Ilitch was the wallet. Holland is a dope.

[Guest Crymson]

"But he wasn't great in the playoffs, and Franzen was a beast! Who would you rather have? Go Mule!" - LGW, 2009

Congratulations on your ability to see the past. It is one shared by everyone with a functioning hippocampus. Seeing the future is a different quality entirely.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Crymson

[number9 3,297]

Holland has been awful, but we will know the full awfulness that is Ken Holland when he pulls his final move. Holmstrom for 1 more year at 1.5 million. Its amazing to watch a lot of people defend the guy while our team goes downhill despite having a good core to build around. Scotty Bowman was the hockey mind, and jimmy d and haakan andersson were the pioneers. Ilitch was the wallet. Holland is a dope.

Edited July 27, 2012 by number9

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Holland is a top notch GM - no doubting that, but giving him this "he can do no wrong" moniker gets rather annoying because it's pretty obvious that with what's taken place this summer - Detroit will be lucky making it into the playoffs.

The panicking and oh no the sky is falling mentality is getting annoying and to be honest with you, it isn't even new anymore. It was fun the first time but right now it is just annoying. Yes, we will be very lucky making into the playoffs but so what? I am fine with seeing the young guns playing and learning instead of overpaying for guys, that won't make the difference between us and the cup.

Is it really so hard to understand?

[GoWings1905 2,694]

The Semin can't be the highest paid player on the team angle is silly. Of course he is going to cost more for one year. That is the catch of only signing him for a year. It's hardly comparable to Datsyuk who is playing out a long-term deal.

If I'm Datsyuk or Zetterberg, I want the team around me to get better. Remember how pissed Z was talking after the Nashville series? They want to compete and win before their careers start declining.

I get not pursuing Doan for multiple years, but Semin for a year is a different story. What else are the Red Wings going to spend their money on now? There's nothing left of impactful players.

[evilmrt 636]

Very disappointed that Holland couldn't pick up a 1 year deal like this. He needed to sign a scoring forward like Semin to free up other "assets" to trade for a d-man. Now that isn't happening...so off we go with our Swiss-Cheese Defense.

[FlashyG 1,799]

Attempting to compare this team to the dead things era makes me wonder if you remember the dead things era very well at all.

Edited July 27, 2012 by FlashyG

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Well.....I'm 41 years old; been a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan since October of 1984; back then they will still a joke, and were still known as the "Dead Things".

I don't wish seeing that all over again.

Is that hard to understand?

I completely understand that point, but tell me this:

Would have signing him made us a cup contendera again? The offense does need some tweaks agreed, but our main problem is still the defense. Maybe Wings are still in on Doan and that is why the have passed on him?

I fully know and can understand the negativity to a certain point, but my point of view is a rather simple: overpaying for elite or close to elite yes but not for questionable players.

[Guest The Axe]

Semin for 7 mil is steep, but we payed Samuelsson, Gustavson, and Tootoo 7 mil combined. Would any of you rather have those 3 instead of Semin? Its all relative.

[Dabura 12,207]

The panicking and oh no the sky is falling mentality is getting annoying and to be honest with you, it isn't even new anymore. It was fun the first time but right now it is just annoying. Yes, we will be very lucky making into the playoffs but so what? I am fine with seeing the young guns playing and learning instead of overpaying for guys, that won't make the difference between us and the cup.

Is it really so hard to understand?

It's not panicking and oh no the sky is falling. It's our roster sucks, and what are you doing, Ken?, and hey it'd be nice to compete for the Cup this season but that's not happening which is stupid.

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

[BigWillieStyle 662]

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

Seems more like, too much beating of dead horses, IMO.

What part of, "we weren't interested", is so hard to comprehend? I'm thinking the Red Wings organization, has a whole lot more insight into why Semin would not be of benefit to the team than a bunch of armchair GM's. Oh, that's right, LGW has lead the team to the playoffs for 21 straight years, and brought us all the spoils of a successfully run sports team, and business. They, had nothing to do with any of that.

For comparison, ask Montreal, The Islanders, or Edmonton, how their "dynasties" are doing. Yeah, you can't win every year, and that has only been magnified by the cap era.

Alright, you can continue crying that Santa didn't bring you the new Nintendo that you wanted.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Yeah, because the concept that the organization has been successful previously means they are always right. We all are aware of the success -- doesn't mean it makes this summer any less frustrating. Relying on two decades of brilliance isn't going to keep the Red Wings relevant.

[Guest RedWingsDad]

Really now... what is all this silliness about us not making the playoffs? Does it really need explaining why the Wings are still a strong play-off contender? We got worse on D for sure, but also better up front and in net. Our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. Without a slew of injuries towards the end last season, it's possible we could have competed for the presidents trophy. It's the end of the... world?

Edited July 27, 2012 by RedWingsDad

[kipwinger 8,518]

Really now... what is all this silliness about us not making the playoffs? Does it really need explaining why the Wings are still a strong play-off contender? We got worse on D for sure, but also better up front and in net. Our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. Without our slew of injuries towards the end of the season, it's possible we could have competed for the presidents trophy. It's the end of the... world?

We'll probably make the playoffs, but I disagree that our division rivals got worse. St. Louis is roughly the same team they were a year ago, Chicago is too, and Nashville really only lost Suter (unless Kostitsyn and Radulov matter). I'd say overall we got noticeably worse on defense, Nashville got slightly worse on defense, and St. Louis and Chicago are the same. It's not going to be easy to win our division this year without some real surprises.

[LeftWinger 4,949]

This signing DOES indeed show that Semin just wanted money...The Olsen Twins have a slim to none chance to win the Cup in Minny, but in Semin's case, slim just left the building... Too bad Holland is afraid to spend any Cap (unless it is an aging, returning Swede.)

[Guest RedWingsDad]

We'll probably make the playoffs, but I disagree that our division rivals got worse. St. Louis is roughly the same team they were a year ago, Chicago is too, and Nashville really only lost Suter (unless Kostitsyn and Radulov matter). I'd say overall we got noticeably worse on defense, Nashville got slightly worse on defense, and St. Louis and Chicago are the same. It's not going to be easy to win our division this year without some real surprises.

I did say that our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. I get your points... and I would agree that overall we took a step back at this point, but just not as much as a lot of people portray, and certainly not so much as to predict we will miss the playoffs. One thing that doesn't seem to register with some is that we did get better up front. I believe our biggest problem up front was never skill... but agitation, toughness, and size. Hudler lacked all three of those qualities and we upgraded him with Sammy... and we added Tootoo, who certainly possesses those three qualities (he is not tall, but bulky). I honestly can't wait to see our offence next season... I only hope we pick up Doan (however unlikely) to add another layer of grit.

Edited July 27, 2012 by RedWingsDad

[Buppy 1,720]

It's not panicking and oh no the sky is falling. It's our roster sucks, and what are you doing, Ken?, and hey it'd be nice to compete for the Cup this season but that's not happening which is stupid.

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

Our roster sucks but Semin makes us a contender?

Yeah, something is way too high...

[kipwinger 8,518]

I did say that our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. I get your points... and I would agree that overall we took a step back at this point, but just not as much as a lot of people portray, and certainly not so much as to predict we will miss the playoffs. One thing that doesn't seem to register with some is that we did get better up front. I believe our biggest problem up front was never skill... but agitation, toughness, and size. Hudler lacked all three of those qualities and we upgraded him with Sammy... and we added Tootoo, who certainly possesses those three qualities (he is not tall, but bulky). I honestly can't wait to see our offence next season... I only hope we pick up Doan (however unlikely) to add another layer of grit.

I do think Sammy is an improvement, and our bottom six is better, but I've thought for the last three years that our top six lacked...legitimate top sixers. On most nights we lose the match up game. I'm excited about what the kids can bring next year, but I still can't help but think that any top six we throw on the ice isn't as good as most top six groups for the elite teams. Plus, our group can't really solve the really tough defenses in the league. Most have figured out how to keep us away from the net and on the outside. I don't think Nyquist, Brunner, or Sammy really help us in that regard.

That said, Cleary and Bert on the third line is a mismatch against most teams in the league, and huge years out of Franzen, Flip, and Helm could make us better than we look on paper.

We'll make the playoffs, but without noticeable improvements from the guys mentioned above, and better than average rookie performances out of the kids, I have serious doubts about how far we go.

[Louisville 112]

From Yahoo! Sports

So how did Rutherford and his staff go about freeing their minds about the Semin rumors? Plenty of research.

During an availability with media Friday morning Rutherford said that he spoke with Semin's former coach in Washington, Bruce Boudreau during the Draft. Other Hurricanes executives reached out to former players, former coaches and former scouts to get their opinions on the 28-year old Russian. Their takeaway? "The positives much outweighed the people that had a negative experience with him," said Rutherford.

Rutherford already had his own opinion on Semin having watched him score 27 times and post 45 points in 41 career games against the Hurricanes -- the most for Semin against any NHL team. The team also used analytics in weighing their decision, as detailed by head PR man Mike Sunheim'sTweets after the signing was announced. They didn't allow the perception about Semin to cloud their judgement in whether or not to pursue him.

"Part of getting a bad rap as a player is sometimes because of the player and sometimes because of the mix of players that's on that team," said Rutherford. "The mix of players on a team sometimes starts to push a player away."

The 1-year deal, Rutherford said, is an opportunity to see if the move is a fit for both sides. Next summer Semin will once again be an unrestricted free agent and with a good season will attract plenty of attention around the NHL, as well as offers from the KHL.

What a perfectly logical way to go about signing someone to a 1 year deal. I wonder if the Red Wings even did any research since they didn't even seem interested. Like I said, it's af****** joke. This is about as Win-Win as you can get in today's current market. Your "highest paid player" argument is funny though.

[b.shanafan14 733]

From Yahoo! Sports

What a perfectly logical way to go about signing someone to a 1 year deal. I wonder if the Red Wings even did any research since they didn't even seem interested. Like I said, it's af****** joke. This is about as Win-Win as you can get in today's current market. Your "highest paid player" argument is funny though.

Great read. And the mind-boggling thing about Semin's reputation for the most part, besides the inconsistency and possible lack of commitment (which isn't foriegn to any team, the Wings included) was that Semin was basically an introvert. We're not talking about someone who fought with his teammates or was constantly making a spectacle of himself, its that in his previous environment he just didn't fit in. From all accounts, he seemed to not pal-around much with his former teammates and was probably a bit of an outcast. He was quiet, wasn't great at speaking English, and hadn't made much effort to learn.

How does THAT poison a team, especially one of the Wings constitution, and so much so that it outweighs his on-ice potential? Its over. Its done with. Still don't understand it.

[Carman 387]

How does THAT poison a team, especially one of the Wings constitution, and so much so that it outweighs his on-ice potential? Its over. Its done with. Still don't understand it.

You're paying a player and giving him top line minutes to be a terrible example in the locker room. It does poison a team, he couldn't even help the Capitals get to the conference finals. Semin is not a player that will help you win a cup, so what would be the point in signing him? He takes horrible penalties, he refused to learn English for years, Arnott even said in an interview he requires a lot of attention from the team for guidance. I see a similarity with Alexei Kovalev, supremely talented player that will end up moving team to team in hopes that he can reach his potential, which never happens.

Carolina went for Semin after they failed to land Nash, they have no expectations to win a cup,what's interesting is they are taking revenuesharing funds(20 million) and bidding up players like Parise/Suter/Doan/Semin etc.Carolina is just spending money to inject a franchise with news. They aren't making good hockey moves, they are just trading away talent for names (the Staal trade), and bringing in an overpaid, underachieving 50 point player.

http://www.canada.com/sports/baseball/Teams+that+poor+should+part/6901107/story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/jason-arnotts-been-talking-to-semin/2011/03/11/ABNXbyQ_blog.html

Edited July 28, 2012 by Carman

[Dabura 12,207]

Our roster sucks but Semin makes us a contender?

Yeah, something is way too high...

Did I say Semin makes us a contender? No. In fact, earlier today I said Semin shouldn't be the highest paid player on any team - and I stand by that. Thanks for playing, though.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Dabura