Updated Dec. 10th.
Alexander Semin’s time with the Montreal Canadiens has to come to an end. After clearing unconditional waivers on Thursday, the team announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate Semin’s contract effective immediately.
Semin was signed in late July by the Habs following one of the most expensive buyouts in NHL history by his old team, the Carolina Hurricanes.
It was hoped that Semin would be a better solution to Montreal’s rotation of right wingers in the top six, an issue that has existed in recent seasons (previous attempts included Daniel Briere, P-A Parenteau, Michael Ryder, and Thomas Vanek, among others). He started the season with Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk but didn’t last long in that role.
Semin never really found his mark with the Canadiens, picking up just a goal and three assists in 15 games while spending several weeks in the press box between being benched and injured. Those stats were a far cry off his career numbers of 517 points (239-287-517) in 650 games split between Washington, Carolina, and Montreal.
The end cost on the cap for the Habs is just shy of $370,000 (62 days with Semin on the NHL roster and two days with him buried in the minors with a reduced cap charge). With him now released, no further cap charges remain.