Alexander Semin was a failed experiment for the Carolina Hurricanes. Semin was signed to a five-year, $35 million contract heading into 2013-14 and the outcome was a disaster. Over the last two seasons, Semin appeared in 122 games and scored 61 points. That stat line doesn’t sound too bad, but he managed just 19 points in 57 games in 2014-15 which resulted in the club buying out his bloated contract.
Semin’s work ethic was questioned by fans and he was often accused of taking his foot off the gas during plays and not following the direction of the coaches. Hurricanes president confirmed that the front office saw these issues too, stating that the team bought out Semin so he’d go away.
Team president Don Waddell’s comments, via the News & Observer:
“Alexander Semin was a very top-end player in the league when the game was played at a slower pace. It’s now played at such a high level if you can’t skate it’s hard to compete. Alex lost a step and he tried to play on the outside too much because he didn’t have the speed.
And then he didn’t buy into the culture that our coach (Bill Peters) was trying to get in the locker room. When you go to practice and you have 22 guys doing things the way the coach wants and one who doesn’t, it usually doesn’t end well. … In simple terms, we paid him $14 million to go away. When we talk about ownership, you don’t do that unless you have a commitment to winning and Pete Karmanos certainly has that.”
Some harsh words from the president of the Hurricanes. It’s pretty rare you hear such blunt and direct comments following a bought out contract. Usually player-team separations are very politically correct, but Waddell wastes no time pointing out Semin’s problems on the ice and going as far to say they paid him to go away.
The NHL has sped up and some players are going to be left behind. Semin has a new opportunity to prove himself in Montreal, but one team publicly believes his game isn’t cut out for the NHL.
