Hurricanes looking to make a run at the Cup

After trading for their captain Eric Staal’s brother Jordan earlier in the offseason the Carolina Hurricanes made another big offseason splash by signing Alexander Semin.

After missing the playoffs for the third straight year the Hurricanes have apparently decided it’s time to get back into the hunt for the Stanley Cup. On July 26th they signed the offensively gifted, former Washington Capital winger Alexander Semin to a 1-year, 7 million dollar contract. Since the 2006-07 season Semin has never scored less than 21 goals (2011-12) and even had 40 goals in 2009-10. There is no question that Semin has tremendous offensive talent, but there were tons of question marks surrounding his commitment during his time in Washington. His 21 goals last season was his lowest since his rookie season back in 2003-04.

He now joins a Hurricanes team where his 54 points would have been second best on the team last season, only behind Eric Staal. The Hurricanes ranked 25th in the league in Goals Against per game last season but hopefully with the addition of Jordan Staal that will help offensively and defensively. Semin will definitely help on the offense side of things and will likely play alongside one of the Staal brothers or Jeff Skinner.

Whomever he may play beside I believe the addition of Semin will help all the fore-mentioned players fantasy wise. For the sake of the Hurricanes hopefully GM Jim Rutherford is right about “not foreseeing any problems” by adding Semin to the roster. Semin may look to prove the critics wrong and stick it to their division rival the Capitals by having an outstanding season in Carolina.

You know what you’re going to get from Eric Stall, a lot of games and a point per game pace; maybe more with the new additions. His brother Jordan should certainly see an increase in playing time and offensive production as he gets out of the shadows of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. As far as Semin goes his draft stock will likely rise like most players changing teams does. However will his play rise as well? Will we see him flourish and get back to 40 goals? Or will he be happy with the money and just continue to be a “cancer” to his team. The player I think that will benefit the most from these acquisitions is goalie Cam Ward. He should see some more defensive help and more goal support, so look for a lower Goals Against Average and likely more Wins.

The ‘Canes saw the emergence of the young Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk last season on the defensive end to go along with Ward between the pipes. If the young defensemen can continue to develop and Ward can get some scoring help from the new look forward unit, the Hurricanes could be a big threat in the Eastern Conference.